We are stoked to present “The Witch of Ridley Creek”, straight off SPELLBOOK’s upcoming album “Deadly Charms”. The trial involving the alleged “witch” of Ridley Creek Margaret Mattson took place in the late XVII century almost a decade before Salem’s infamous witch hunt. Margaret was accused by her neighbors of practicing witchcraft, casting a curse over their animals and drying their land. The truth was that Margaret occupied first the best part of the land which was much more fertile. At the end of the trial no evidence was found of Margaret practicing witchery and she was condemned to a light sentence. Shot by Brian Magar, “The Witch of Ridley Creek” features Brandy Collier as the Witch herself.
“Deadly Charms” will be released by Cruz Del Sur Music on Sept 30 (CD/DIGITAL) and October 7 (LP).
“Their second effort sees them shed the fantasy and fiction approach of their debut, instead leaning into horror and reality more heavily.” – Zero Tolerance
“‘Deadly Charms’ shows the band evolving with their sound and continuing to develop their own identity whilst delivering an excellent album in the process.” – Powerplay Magazine (UK), 9/10
“The darker shades of 70s hard rock combined with mystical heaviness.” – Fligh Of Pegasus (GR)
York, Pennsylvania vintage proto-metal purveyors SPELLBOOK will release their sophomore full-length, “Deadly Charms”, this September via Cruz Del Sur Music.
The follow-up to 2020’s “Magick & Mischief” was recorded in February at Developing Nations in Baltimore, Maryland, with producer/engineer Kevin Bernsten. The album also marks the SPELLBOOK recording debut of their two new guitarists, Les Yarde and Patrick “Patty” Benton.
“The material has new life injected into it while still maintaining the adventurous ’70s hard rock sound we strive for,” says drummer Nick Zinn. “It certainly helped Les and Patty love ‘Magick & Mischief’ and its no-rules approach. Yet, at the same time, ‘Deadly Charms’ does seem a bit more focused. We love how the overall vibe has a more anthemic feel.”
According to Zinn, the lyrical themes on “Deadly Charms” lean much heavier on horror and reality than the fantasy and fiction approach found in “Magick & Mischief”. The David Thiérrée (BEHEMOTH, MORTIIS, IHSAHN)-created artwork capably showcases these topics.
“The cover depicts an open spell book spewing forth witches, devils and other ghastly things,” notes Zinn. “These are all subject matters within ‘Deadly Charms’ songs. We’ve been fortunate to work with so many great artists over the years on different albums dating back to our WITCH HAZEL days and enjoy the excitement of a new artist on each project we do.”
“Magick & Mischief” was released in the thick of the global pandemic. While it put a premature end to the band’s touring plans, it immediately cultivated a feverish critical following. Teeth Of The Divine called it “one of the best and most original heavy metal albums that seems like it was recorded in the ’70s and just received an updated remastering.” At the same time, Toilet Ov Hell noted, “This record is stuffed to bursting with hooky, moody riffs, stuffed like a filing cabinet full of promising leads.”
The run-up to the release of “Deadly Charms” will find SPELLBOOK busy with a myriad of projects — including some much-desired plans to hit the road.
“We are working on shooting videos for a few songs off the record,” says Zinn. “Once the album is released, we really want to tour this time around. This new lineup has been gigging for a little while now and is eager to play these new songs anywhere and everywhere we can.”
Vintage, adventurous proto-metal that taps into the deep well of ’70s rock!
Formerly known as Witch Hazel, SpellBook marries Black Sabbath, Pentagram and progressive rock for seven songs of entrancing classic metal!
During the writing process for what would eventually become Magick & Mischief, the members of York, Pennsylvania vintage proto-metal purveyors Witch Hazel realized there was no better time than the present to change their name. The idea had long rested on their mind, but the risks in changing a band’s name are numerous, if not painfully obvious. After all, since their 2007 formation, Witch Hazel independently released three studio albums, Forsaken Remedies (2012), Nocturnity (2015) and Otherwordly (2018), and had already generated buzz in the doom metal underground. But, with the confidence that the material they created for Magick & Mischief was the strongest of their career, Witch Hazel reached back into their past for the song “The Spellbook” from Forsaken Remedies and rebranded themselves SpellBook. Soon, a deal with Cruz Del Sur Music was signed, and the band started a new chapter that begins with the release of Magick & Mischief.
Recorded in May 2019 at Developing Nations with Kevin Bernsten, Magick & Mischief is the embodiment of a band going further than before, honing in on their obvious strengths as songwriters while exploring new territory in the sprawling classic metal and vintage heavy rock landscape. SpellBook, who feature vocalist Nate Tyson, drummer Nicholas Zinn, guitarist Andy Craven and bassist Seibert Lowe, followed a fairly simple approach when writing the album: There is no formula. There are no rules. Write what feels good. The best songs win. As a result, Magick & Mischief is a varied, adventurous body of work, reeling in Iron Maiden and proto-metal vibes on “Wands to the Sky” and “Ominous Skies,” an epic concept piece in the form of “Dead Detectives,” which appropriately recalls Alice Cooper at his theatrical peak, along with regular crowd-pleaser “Amulet,” which the band honed in the live arena before committing it to tape. Elsewhere, doom, acoustic guitars and sterling lead vocal work from Tyson are interwoven with ease, all the while staying true to SpellBook’s impeccable list of influences of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Blue Oyster Cult, Kiss and Pentagram.
The album artwork was created by Chad Keith, who dutifully melded each of Magick & Mischief’s songs in visual form to comprise the cover. It’s a fitting representation of an album that puts a fresh twist on a classic style.
Magick & Mischief track listing:
LP version Wands to the Sky Black Shadow Ominous Skies Not Long for This World Motorcade Amulet(Single Version) Dead Detectives
CD version Wands to the Sky Black Shadow Ominous Skies Not Long for This World Motorcade Amulet/Fare Thee Well Dead Detectives
