Track By Tracks: Witchorious - Witchorious (2024)

1. Monster:

We all have someone who disgusts us because of their actions, someone who dominates us, belittles us, abuses their power... Someone we may also be jealous of. The narrator addresses someone he despises so much, this "monster." But isn't he also addressing himself? Nothing is black or white; one can be good or bad depending on the context. The realization is that we all have a dark side, that the human being is rotten. The main theme is a classic heavy metal/doom riff inspired by Black Sabbath and Electric Wizard. The chorus "You're a monster, such a monster..." and the riff with chromatics are inspired by Jinjer (album "Cloud Factory").

2. Catharsis:

Depression is a mental prison. In this song, we explore moments when one finds oneself alone with one's doubts, fears, lack of self-confidence... When it feels cramped and you are stuck between invisible walls, wanting to break them and scream, but remaining lethargic, with no sound coming out. The purpose of this track is to finally break these walls, and speak out loud about the evils that haunt us. The sound of the verses is heavy, time stops to let out emotions, with a rhythm reminiscent of Deftones. In the choruses, the arpeggios bring sweetness, Lucie's voice expresses the desire to break through the walls of depression, while Antoine's screams in the background testify to the difficulty of getting out. And then there's the middle bridge with staccato rhythms, inspired by Korn and Mastodon, showing the in-between moments when one alternately self-blames to sink into depression, then wakes up to fight and get out.

3. The Witch:

The witch represents the rebellious and oppressed figure. She fascinates and scares because she is mysterious and marginal. She acts occultly according to her own beliefs and, in the end, she is free. She is taken as a threat, but she directs the game because people rely on her spells. When it goes too far, people kill her, but she always survives in beliefs and folk tales. The main theme is widely inspired by the tracks "Black Sabbath" and "God Is Dead" by Black Sabbath. The main voice plays the storyteller, with a provocative rock tone inspired by Ozzy Osbourne and Liam Gallagher. In the end, the satanic rhythm is inspired by black metal tunes such as Behemoth’s.

4. Blood:

The story of a tyrannical and bloodthirsty king, who owns everything but always wants more and does not hesitate to sacrifice his people to achieve his ends. He also turns to the gods, including the gods of evil, to obtain absolute power. These gods, who according to humans would require sacrifices to unleash their powers, largely serve as an excuse for the king's sadism. The main character is inspired by Stannis Baratheon in the Game Of Thrones series who is a desperate king who, faced with a series of failures, multiplies cruelties towards his own people to try to gain the favor of the divine. The song is a bluesy piece of overall inspiration from Black Sabbath once again and Alice In Chains, with touches of Parkway Drive (song "Crushed") on the choruses and Slash’s Snakepit on the solo.

5. Eternal Night:

An introspective piece sung by Lucie expresses in its verses the feeling of not fitting in, not being able to integrate into society, and being paralyzed by this situation. Dark thoughts are always present, even with the will to get out of them, and they catch up with us to lower us into the darkest corners of our being. A theremin solo pierces the heavy atmosphere of the piece and personifies the madness escaping from malaise. The main musical theme is an atmosphere in the style of Black Sabbath, and the guitar that supports the theremin on the bridge is inspired by Royal Blood (first album).

6. Sanctuaire:

A man finds himself lost in the forest at night. As he turns to God to find his way, he witnesses strange phenomena: voices, and beams of light. Is this a divine manifestation to guide him? Is it imagination? Is he dreaming? Is it the work of creatures that mean him well or ill? Amid delirium, everything suddenly seems to make sense, and he suffers as much from the experience as he enjoys it. Here we talk about a man lost in his life who finds a glimmer of hope in a belief (religion, paranormal, extraterrestrials, etc.) and gradually sinks into fanaticism and madness. The song is generally inspired by Black Sabbath, with a touch of Monolord (song "Where Death Meets The Sea") on the solo.

7. Amnesia:

A bass-only jam that stems from the recording of “Sanctuaire”. The idea of keeping this interlude came in the studio, and playing with sounds and atmospheres later gave it this unsettling atmosphere of perdition.

8. Watch Me Die:

We look at the state of the planet and wonder how we got here: how did we create such an ecological disaster, and how can we continue to be so indifferent to it? While some shirk their responsibilities, just believe in fate, or even consider migrating to another planet, we think that much awareness is needed. This planet and this life are a gift that we have not proven ourselves worthy of, and we will have to pay. And if ever human life on Earth finally turned out to be an aberration, then let it end! The influences on this track were a mix of Black Sabbath and System Of A Down for the music, and Jinjer and Parkway Drive for the vocals.

9. To The Grave:

The feeling of being lost in this time and in this world. We try to find our way without really knowing what our purpose is. We fight, we endure battles, but we all end up in the same place in the end: all united in death. What is all this for? Is it worth it? This song was initially performed in a more heavy rock style like Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, but we were not satisfied with the result. So, we chose to play it more calmly, almost acoustically, to give it a more spiritual dimension very influenced by atmospheres like Hozier's on "Take Me To Church".

10. Why:

"Why" is a contemplative and naive look at the world. We observe exchanges between people, tensions, frustrations, and everyone with the same desires but each for themselves, to the detriment of others and without listening. We start from the micro level of the family or workplace, then expand to society, until we reach the macro level of the world. We see a rise in violence, from everyday events to wars breaking out everywhere, but none of this is new. So, we ask ourselves "why?" Why do we act like this? Why doesn't it change? We don't understand this strange world, and yet we are part of it and contribute to it. The main influences for the theme were Black Sabbath and Monolord, with a solo very inspired by John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers) on "Dani California". The vocals are mostly inspired by Ozzy Osbourne.