Los Angeles-based dark melodic metal outfit Witherfall issued the power ballad ‘Where Do I Begin?’ as a single with accompanying video from their fourth full-length album Sounds Of The Forgotten, out now via DeathWave Records.
Commenting on the track, the band explained: “Sounds Of The Forgotten is our defining statement, a testament to what we in Witherfall hold sacred in the rock and metal zeitgeist. We delve into many forms on ‘Sounds Of The Forgotten’ and one of the truly lost art-forms becoming ever more rare is the power ballad. Forgoing cheesy and sometimes hallow tropes about unrequited love we chose to write about our love of music. This ballad is an ode for anyone that finds themselves on their journey (whatever it may be) and fearing that their dream may be slipping away from them. ‘Where Do I Begin?’ is a call to find your passion again and revisit those initial reasons for all of your sacrifices”.
Previous singles were ‘Insidious’ and ‘Ceremony Of Fire’ and you can check out the music videos to them here at RAMzine.
“We found ourselves writing really depressing, melancholy songs about how just disappointed we were with all the work we put into Curse of Autumn and then going through the pandemic,” said frontman and songwriter Joseph Michael about the record. “Before that, we thought nothing was going to stop us. Then, something did. We felt a bit defeated. So, that’s how Sounds Of The Forgotten started. But we got out of that quickly. The songs we ended up writing were empowering. We have songs with negative emotions, but the overarching theme is moving forward and perseverance. That’s the epitome of Sounds Of The Forgotten.”
Many factors influenced and inspired Witherfall’s approach to the album – Its colour theme conveys another side to their distress. Often associated with ambition, power, and regality, the Blake Armstrong (In Flames, Megadeth, Kataklysm, Harry Potter, Wednesday) cover art provides a view into and a visual counter to the music.
Tracks featured on the album are ‘They Will Let You Down’, ‘Where Do I Begin’, ‘A Lonely Path’, ‘Insidious’, ‘Ceremony Of Fire’, ‘Sounds Of The Forgotten’, ‘Aftermath’, ‘When It All Falls Away’, ‘Opulent’ and ‘What Have You Done’.
DeathWave Records was created by Witherfall headmen Joseph Michael and Jake Dreyer as a vehicle for their music and other projects. Order the album in Europe and the UK here.
Formed in Los Angeles in 2013, Joseph Michael (also of Sanctuary fame) and Jake Dreyer (ex-Iced Earth/Demons & Wizards) built their new band around the late drummer Adam Sagan and accomplished bassist Anthony Crawford (Allan Holdsworth, CHON). Since then, the group have released three albums: Nocturnes And Requiems (2017), A Prelude To Sorrow (2018), and Curse Of Autumn (2021) and the Vintage EP (2019). They enlisted famed drummer Marco Minnemann (The Aristocrats, Steven Wilson) on Curse Of Autumn, and he also appears on Sounds Of The Forgotten, with drummer Chris Tsaganeas (Wax Owls) and multi-instrumentalist Gerry Hirschfeld (Willie Nelson) subsequently joining the band.
