The Witch King’ is the debut EP from Cleveland death/doom trio PROCESSION, a four-track slab of creeping death/doom steeped in anguish, isolation, and ruin, issued on CD and bolstered with bonus tracks taken from their ‘Chthonic Signals’ demo.
Across its four tracks, ‘The Witch King’ explores feelings of suffering, powerlessness, and despair in the face of overwhelming forces, channeling these themes through visions of crumbling kingdoms, haunted wastelands, and ever lurking ancient evils. While rooted in horror-inspired storytelling, the EP draws upon the realities of war, oppression, and human suffering, transforming personal and collective anxieties into bleak tales of ruin and torment.
"The overall themes of the record deal with feelings of anguish and often powerlessness in the face of oppressive forces," explains vocalist and guitarist Dominic Dulin. "My lyrics mainly take a horror-writing approach, where the evils inflicted on the speaker are meant to encapsulate some of the worst human traits in our society. The character of the Witch King was partially inspired by Tolkien but eventually grew into its own ugly apparition."
Drawing influence from the rotting extremity of Autopsy, the spectral dread of Mystic Charm, and the primitive force of Anatomia and Mythic, ‘The Witch King’ unfolds over twenty minutes of creeping death/doom, with synths casting a cold chill of dark ambience throughout.
Listen: https://processiondeath.bandcamp.com/album/the-witch-king