Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin Share First Song From New Collaborative Album
(Secret Service Publicity) Revered avant-garde doom acts Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin have confirmed their much anticipated second collaborative album Stygian Bough Vol. II will be released November 14th via Profound Lore. Today, the bands have revealed the first released track, 'Waves Became The Sky.'
"We're thrilled to unveil 'Waves Became the Sky' today," says Bell Witch's Dylan Desmond. "It is a well rounded introduction to Stygian Bough Volume II, with lyrical references to several albums in our catalog. Most predominately it recalls 'Rows (of Endless Waves)' from Bell Witch's debut Longing which is, fittingly, where Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin first collaborated."
'Waves Became The Sky,' expands on the themes of "Rows (of Endless Waves)' pondering, as Aerial Ruin's Erik Moggridge says, "the battle of scientific thinking compared to superstitious thinking." And it wastes no time in its approach; sonic waves form an immediate pulse well known to anyone familiar with Bell Witch and Stygian Bough Vol. I. The immediacy of Moggridge's guitar and vocal choruses add layer upon layer of harmonic depth with polyrhythmic melodies as they soar with Desmond's two handed method of bass guitar.
Recorded with Billy Anderson (Agalloch, Pallbearer), Vol. II examines a world in which various forms of worship empower, eclipse, destroy and feed on each other. "All four songs explore different aspects of worship or awe - transcendent experiences in different contexts," Moggridge says.
Over the course of 4 songs, clocking in at just under an hour, each musical piece sets itself apart from the individual bands non collaborative catalog. The resulting record is steeped in mysticism, legend, and the examination of "the connective threads that shape and influence the culture, mythology, and customs of all human societies throughout time in unique, localized ways," says Desmond.
The cover of the album is adorned by a stunning painting by acclaimed artist Denis Forkas (Behemoth, Wolves in the Throne Room). The piece encapsulates the focused attention and emotional heft of the record. "Denis Forkas' cover art immediately spoke to me with the symbolism of the severed head," says Desmond. "In conjunction with Stygian Bough's aligning with James Frazer's book The Golden Bough, the branch of symbology concerning severed heads throughout human societies is fascinating. No doubt, this fascination has been shared by many of our ancestors as well as those yet to come; it is something of our identity."
Stygian Bough Vol. II will be available on limited edition 2xLP vinyl and CD. Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin will unite to perform the new record, Stygian Bough Vol. II, on a European tour to take place in January/February 2026 with support from 40 Watt Sun.
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