Earsplit PR issues that Ten years ago today, brothers Nate and Chance Garnette joined forces with Scott Hedrick in a new band they opted to call SKELETONWITCH. A decade later, the blackened metal powerhouse commemorates their anniversary with the world premiere of the slasher/classic horror-themed music video for “I Am Of Death (Hell Has Arrived),” a new song from the group’s highly anticipated fifth studio offering, Serpents Unleashed.

Comments Nate, “It’s never a bad time when you combine 100 beers, several bloody sheep skulls, murder in the woods and five headbanging maniacs. It’s an even better time when the end result is a killer classic/slasher video. This time we went with the ‘even better time.’ Enjoy!”

Get your slasher fix on with “I Am Of Death (Hell Has Arrived),” now playing at Bloody-Disgusting HERE.

Recorded with Kurt Ballou (Converge, Isis, High On Fire) earlier this year, and featuring artwork by John Baizley (Kvelertak, Kylesa, Baroness), Serpents Unleashed — the follow-up to 2011’s Billboard-charting Forever Abomination, and a record Decibel has hailed as the band’s “best effort to date” — sees SKELETONWITCH at their most punishing. The album — which is available for preorder at SKELETONWITCH.com in CD, LP, cassette, digital download and limited edition 7-inch collector’s box formats — will be unleashed in North America on October 29th, in Australia, Germany, Austria and Switzerland on October 25th and in the UK and the rest of Europe on October 28th. In addition, you can now pre-order the album digitally at iTunes and Bandcamp and receive an instant download of “I Am Of Death (Hell Has Arrived).”

Next month, SKELETONWITCH will initiate the massive Serpents Unleashed touring cycle by playing a handful of shows with Swedish occult rockers Ghost B.C., after which they’ll embark on a full North American takeover with The Black Dahlia Murder. The band will kick off 2014 with a stateside journey alongside Amon Amarth and Enslaved. A full list of the group’s upcoming live assaults are included below.

SKELETONWITCH
10/04/2013 Majestic Theatre – Madison, WI w/ Ghost B.C.
10/05/2013 Frank’s Power Plant – Milwaukee, WI SKELETONWITCH only
10/06/2013 Smith’s Downtown – Mishawaka, IN SKELETONWITCH only
10/07/2013 Newport Music Hall – Columbus, OH w/ Ghost B.C.
10/14/2013 Bijou Theatre – Knoxville, TN w/ Ghost B.C.

w/ The Black Dahlia Murder, Fallujah, Noisem
10/24/2013 Peabody’s Concert Club – Cleveland, OH
10/25/2013 Chameleon Club – Lancaster, PA
10/26/2013 Knitting Factory – Brooklyn, NY
10/27/2013 The Met – Pawtucket, RI
10/28/2013 Higher Ground – Burlington, VT
10/29/2013 Le Cercle – Quebec City, QC
10/30/2013 La Tulipe – Montreal, QC
10/31/2013 Ritual – Ottawa, ON
11/01/2013 Rum Runners – London, ON
11/02/2013 Mod Club – Toronto, ON
11/04/2013 Crocks – Thunder Bay, ON
11/06/2013 West End Cultural Centre – Winnipeg, MB
11/07/2013 Louis’ Pub – Saskatoon, SK
11/08/2013 Avenue Theatre – Edmonton, AB
11/09/2013 The Den – Calgary, AB
11/11/2013 The Biltmore Cabaret – Vancouver, BC
11/12/2013 The Center – Spokane, WA
11/13/2013 WOW Hall – Eugene, OR
11/14/2013 Whiskey Dick’s Saloon – South Lake Tahoe, CA
11/15/2013 Strummer’s – Fresno, CA
11/16/2013 Glasshouse – Pomona, CA
11/17/2013 The Rock – Tucson, AZ
11/18/2013 Tricky Falls – El Paso, TX *newly added
11/19/2013 Club Patron – Odessa, TX

w/ The Black Dahlia Murder, Fallujah, Wolvhammer
11/20/2013 Conservatory – Oklahoma City, OK
11/21/2013 Outland Ballroom – Springfield, MO
11/22/2013 Firebird – St. Louis, MO
11/23/2013 Blue Moose – Iowa City, IA
11/24/2013 The Castle Theatre – Bloomington, IL
11/25/2013 Mojoes of Joliet – Joliet, IL
11/26/2013 The Intersection – Grand Rapids, MI
11/27/2013 The Machine Shop – Flint, MI

w/ Amon Amarth, Enslaved
1/17/2014 House of Blues – Las Vegas, NV
1/18/2014 Club Red – Phoenix, AZ
1/20/2014 Backstage Live – San Antonio, TX
1/21/2014 House of Blues – Dallas, TX
1/22/2014 House of Blues – Houston, TX
1/24/2014 Center Stage – Atlanta, GA
1/25/2014 The Ritz – Tampa, FL
1/26/2014 Revolution – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
1/29/2014 The Fillmore – Charlotte, NC
1/30/2014 NorVA – Norfolk, VA
1/31/2014 The Fillmore – Silver Springs, MD
2/01/2014 House of Blues – Boston, MA
2/03/2014 TLA – Philadelphia, PA
2/04/2014 Irving Plaza – New York, NY
2/07/2014 House of Blues – Chicago, IL
2/08/2014 Mill City Nights – Minneapolis, MN
2/09/2014 Grenada Theatre – Lawrence, KS
2/11/2014 Summit Theatre – Denver, CO
2/12/2014 Murray Theater – Salt Lake City, UT
2/14/2014 The Regency – San Francisco, CA
2/15/2014 Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA
w/ Amon Amarth
2/16/2014 House of Blues – San Diego, CA

Since signing with Prosthetic seven years ago, a new SKELETONWITCH album has materialized like clockwork every other October. First, there was the group’s sophomore breakthrough, Beyond The Permafrost. Produced by late GWAR guitarist Cory Smoot and featuring iconic artwork by John Baizley (Baroness, Kylesa, Kvelertak), the album — and subsequent tours with the likes of Danzig, Dimmu Borgir and Amon Amarth — told the world what the rest of Ohio already knew: That SKELETONWITCH was a metal force with which to be reckoned. That album’s “Soul Thrashing Black Sorcery” would eventually be featured in the video game Brutal Legend, placing the band in excellent company with digitized versions of Rob Halford, Ozzy and Lemmy.

Then came 2009’s Breathing The Fire, produced by the legendary Jack Endino (Nirvana, High On Fire, 3 Inches of Blood). Supported by tours with Cannibal Corpse, Children of Bodom and Ozzfest, the album — the band’s first featuring bassist Evan Linger, and also their first to crack the Billboard Top 200 — caught the attention of Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, who invited the group to film a zombie-themed video for the song “Bringers of Death” that the band members still haven’t stopped hearing about.

In 2011, Forever Abomination — produced by Grammy-winner Matt Hyde (Slayer, Deftones) — saw the arrival of drummer Dustin Boltjes (ex-Demiricous), as well as a return visit to the Billboard Top 200. On the road, the group toured alongside Arch Enemy, Kvelertak, The Black Dahlia Murder and Nile before embarking on their most ambitious trek to date: A 63-shows-in-65-days test of endurance they passed with flying colors.

2013 brings us to Serpents Unleashed, the group’s fifth and latest release. Recorded with Kurt Ballou (Converge, High On Fire, Isis) in Salem, Massachusetts (insert bad “witch” joke here), the album is another blistering helping of two-and-a-half minute blasts of blackened metal amalgamation. This time around, the band also shows off a few new tricks — note the Scandinavian doom-vibe in the opening of “Unending, Everliving” and the devil’s swing of “This Evil Embrace” — but does so without compromising the frosty/fiery/abominable metal spirit or blue-collar humility that has endeared them to so many over the past decade. Ultimately, it’s both a fitting testament to what they’ve accomplished to date, and an exciting nod toward what the future has in store.

http://www.facebook.com/skeletonwitchmetal
http://www.skeletonwitch.com
http://www.prostheticrecords.com