CEREMONIAL CASTINGS

Eisenwald is pleased to announce a special 25th anniversary release celebrating the Bewitching Black Metal of Ceremonial Castings, Our Journey Through Forever, scheduled for release on February 25th, 2022.

In order to appreciate what led the band to this point, some history seems to be in order. In the later part of the year of 1996, brothers Jake and Nick Superchi formed a musical group that would come to be known as Ceremonial Castings. While the duo draw from a wide range of musical influences and have done so throughout their career, it is a particular family heritage connection that seems to permeate through the project’s existence and play a large role in their creative endeavors. From an early age, the brothers had learned of their lineage on one side that connected them to infamous writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, who’s great-great grandfather was none other than Salem Witch Trials judge and magistrate John Hathorne. Growing up an hour west of Salem in north-central Massachusetts, the brothers learned of the dark history and the shadows it had cast over the state. With such influences in their bloodlines, it was only natural these events would integrate into their writings.

The band’s connection to New England’s dark history has followed them throughout their career, thematically in the topics they explore but also by what some believe to be the curse cast upon John Hathorne’s bloodline, something the brothers have had to experience directly during the recording sessions of what they deemed to be their magnum opus concept album, Salem 1692, in 2008. Plagued with technical problems and physical afflictions to all involved parties that escaped rational explanation, the final result did not meet the band’s standards. As such, 2020 saw the band re-record the entirety of Salem 1692 to allow the album to finally meet their initial vision.

With a career spanning nine full-length albums, a slew of demos, EPs, and splits as well as notable live performances throughout the globe, it is high time for Ceremonial Castings to commemorate 25 years of their existence, a milestone reached in the year 2021. For this occasion, the band has hand-selected and carefully re-recorded 18 of their classic songs, as well as two completely new and previously unreleased instrumentals by Nick Superchi, to be released as a double album.

Entitled Our Journey Through Forever, these recordings take listeners on a look back at the history of the band and particularly their early works, allowing for a better appreciation of the significant progression seen in their writing throughout the years. A modern yet never-sterile production (with mixing duties handled by Jake Superchi at Obsidian Spells and mastering duties handled by James Sloan at Negative Force Audio Production) allows these songs to breathe in the way the band always intended and allows for a smoother listen as opposed to merely compiling the initial album recordings. Rather, Our Journey Through Forever better appreciates these classic songs from today’s perspective and thus is sure to make listeners eager to see where Ceremonial Castings‘ journey will lead them to in the future…

In the meantime, hear the brand-new re-recording of “Immortal Black Art” here:

Cover art, courtesy of Kris Verwimp, and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Ceremonial Castings’ Our Journey Through Forever
-CD 1-
1. Come Forth…Damnation [4:44]
2. Immortal Black Art [8:04]
3. Our Journey Through Forever [13:42]
4. My Kingdom of Cold Sorrows [7:34]
5. I; A Thousand Fires [7:49]
6. Bewitching Black Metal [6:00]
7. The Purifier of Battle Pt. I [3:18]
8. Desecration of Grace [6:43]
9. The Fall of Man [4:54]
10. Midnight Deathcult Phenomena [6:54]

-CD 2-
11. Darkness & War [4:03]
12. Into the Black Forest of Witchery [6:20]
13. Sweet Misery I Foresee [9:03]
14. Barbaric is the Beast [4:48]
15. Frostseasongoddess [6:46]
16. Human Slave Infantry [3:26]
17. The Purifier of Battle Pt. II [5:27]
18. A Serpent’s Kiss [4:22]
19. Universal Funeral March [4:48]
20. The Coming of Dawn We Fear [7:23]

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/CeremonialCastingsOfficial

www.eisenton.de
www.facebook.com/eisenwaldofficial
www.youtube.com/eisenwaldofficial
www.twitter.com/EisenwaldHammer
www.instagram.com/eisenwald.official

Today, Eisenwald sets November 27th as the North American release date for a a special re-recording of Ceremonial Castings’ lost classic Salem 1692 – hereby titled Salem 1692 (MMXX) –  on CD, cassette, and vinyl LP formats. In lieu of this announcement, the first track “Damned Be Those of the Craft” can be heard here:

Formed in that fateful year of 1996, Ceremonial Castings were a band of the times, a band later behind the times, and now a band ahead of the times once again. Many will belatedly be aware of the name Ceremonial Castings due to the membership of future UADA founder Jake Superchi, alongside his brother Nick Superchi, who were later (and once again now) joined by drummer Matt Mattern. The band crafted a canon of symphonic black metal that was admirably ambitious and often brilliant but all too often overlooked. Until their eventual demise in 2014, Ceremonial Castings created nine full-lengths and just as many demos/EPs that were all released on their own label. Their album covers were often graced with artwork courtesy of the masterful Kris Verwimp, who also created the band’s logo.

Of these, it’s arguably 2008’s Salem 1692 which is the most beloved of all Ceremonial Castings recordings and the one which is most emblematic of the band’s “Bewitching Black Metal.” By this point, the band’s albums were easily topping an hour-plus in length, as their songwriting had become more ambitious as well as their lyrical themes in kind. Salem 1692 is distinct in this regard in that the lyrical theme directly ties into the Superchi brothers’ family history. As Jake explains, “Since the beginning of this band in 1996, this was the album we always wanted to make, as we have a deep tie to the events in Salem of 1692. Growing up just west of Salem, my brother Nick and I learned all about the events at a very young age, including that we are in fact direct descendants – however many great grandsons – of Judge John Hathorne, who had sentenced the witches to hang. It is said that one of the girls who was hung had cast a curse on our family’s bloodline.” 

While it is still unclear whether Ceremonial Castings have officially returned from the grave, this new re-recording of Salem 1692 (MMXX) sounds exceptionally fresh, richly detailed, and fully conveys the mysticism so crucial to their aesthetic. It’s as immersive as ever, if not more so due to the richly kaleidoscopic sound – organic, analog, but not once sacrificing any of the otherworldliness which endeared Ceremonial Castings to so many. And now, in 2020, as more ancient and classicist styles of black metal take hold with a new generation, “”symphonic black metal” need no longer be a dirty word: this re-recording of Salem 1692 (MMXX) is poignant proof of the subgenre’s inherent power to transport the listener to forgotten realms and dimensions far, far away from modernity.

“This is a record that holds a lot of mystical energy showcased within its eleven hymns, as they seamlessly weave and flow together as one harmonious entity,” explains Veiled founder and UADA bassist Nate Verschoor. “Taking into consideration the concept of the album, it’s as if the songs themselves were twisted into form to act as spells and incantations. I say this because the moment the album begins, a presence is immediately felt, and the journey into a time long ago begins to take shape.”

“With the turn of a new decade,” concludes Jake, “we who would be sentenced to hang by our own ancestor, felt that not only did this represent our craft best to reintroduce ourselves, but we also would like to remind the world in 2020 of where a witch-hunt can and will lead if not careful with unwise accusations. We are here to show that American black metal does have a history that is tied to a very dark and cruel past. We are here to turn the focus around upon those who would condemn us for who and what we are. This album is for all who still believe in the old ways and who understand the true nature of magick. Together, let us reverse the curse.”

In the meantime, hear the re-recorded version of “Damned Be Those of the Craft” across all major digital platforms HERE. Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover art, courtesy of Kris Verwimp, and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Ceremonial Castings’ Salem 1692 (MMXX)
1. Beneath the Sabbath Moon [9:17]
2. Where the Witches Waltz [5:36]
3. The Devil in Salem [9:21]
4. Obsidian Spells of Hysteria [6:48]
5. The Dreamstalk Masquerade [4:09]
6. The Crucible & the Cross [7:38]
7. Damned Be Those of the Craft    [6:40]
8. Onwards to Gallows Hill [9:25]
9. Stones upon the Warlock [3:30]
10. When Winter Spectres Come [6:31]
11. The Search for Tranquility [3:38]

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/CeremonialCastingsOfficial

www.eisenton.de
www.facebook.com/eisenwaldofficial
www.youtube.com/eisenwaldofficial
www.twitter.com/EisenwaldHammer
www.instagram.com/eisenwald.official