The wolf at Symbel, laughing at the gods with his mead horn.
Released with 'Hammerwych' singl, August 4th 2014.
Black print on grey Gildan Ultra cotton shirt.
Pre-orders taken now for late August despatch,
Limited shirts printed only to order.
Cut off date 17th August 2014.
Includes unlimited streaming of Hammerwych EP
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Sold Out
SWR018 SYMBEL - 'Hammerwych' cassette
Cassette + Digital Album
Limited edition cassette from SunshineWardRecordings of the US. Gold tape leader.. A tribute to the AngloSaxon Staffordshire Hoard found in Hammerwich by Lichfiled UK in 2009.Never to repressed, ever. SOLD OUT, US customers: sunshineward.storenvy.com Buy now!
Includes unlimited streaming of Hammerwych EP
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Sold Out
about
Originally written upon the 2009 discovery of the Anglosaxon Hoard in Staffordshire England, on an acoustic guitar. The wise guess at the time was that the hoard was the looted remains from a defeated army - one that had marched against a pagan middle England, and lost. This proved one of the best theories, and is explored here. The drums are from the Gyddigg album recordings ( see 2013 release ), and the whole track is now assembled for your pleasure with dense guitars and clean choral vocals. Download of this single includes bonus track 'Surrounded By Orcs' and sheet music for a male voice choral arrangement of 'Folded Cross', with orchestral audio track for you to listen to. In addition, find two tracks from the lost 2004 album. Thank you.
lyrics
FOLDED CROSS
Surge Domine et dissepentur inimici tu et fugiant qui oderunt te a facie tua...
This is a tale that starts upon a hill in Hammerwych
in the folded dales of Saxon Mercia
passed by on countless days
so many never knew that place
was once where armies rode before a conqueror
from legions shadows rose the spectre of a heathen king
dark as dragons blood and deep as ocean floor
feared by all the kings who’d sold themselves to cross and gold
he the last of them would hold against them all
I am the overlord the hated king
I am the overlord the Mercian king
And around him were the armies of the new wave
with the blessing of the rich and rising church
their golden banners shields and swords
they shone with righteousness
as they marched upon the lands of Mercia
But on that day it seems that near this hill in Hammerwych
a legion lost its fight to crush the pagan king
and from their shields were torn
their gold and precious jewel inlays
and tossed into the earth
a bent and folded cross
This has been staple listening for me since I first got the CD in 2006. Raw but not to the extent that it is unlistenable, the riffs are heavy and memorable, with each song having it's own identity.
Wartooth's vocals are certainly a highlight of Bretwaldas' sound. Rough and gritty, in the best way, as he snarls out lyrics about Dark Ages warriors, heathenism and nature. If you can imagine if Lemmy was a Brummie and sang on an early Black Sabbath album then you're getting somewhere near the sound of this Midlands duo.
This album is class from beginning to end but if I was to have to choose highlights I'd go for album opener The Haunted Ride, Iron Skies (a song of two gloriously different halves) and Beneath the Eaves. The latter appeared on a CD with Zero Tolerance magazine way back and was the undisputed stand out track on there. Grimslath