There are two kinds of heavy bands: the ones that make a lot of noise and the ones that drag you somewhere you didn’t know you needed to go. Cwfen (pronounced ‘Coven’) are the latter, and their debut album ‘Sorrows’ [reviewed by SonicAbuse here] is a record that doesn’t just crush – it haunts long after the final note.
The allure of Cwfen’s sound lies in contrasts: the glacial ferocity of Amenra, with the velvet-and-razor vocals of King Woman, and the rotting grandeur of Type O Negative. It’s as hypnotic as it is harrowing, but somehow even better than the sum of those parts.
Watch the video for ‘Wolfsbane’
Since emerging from Glasgow’s underground, Cwfen have built a solid reputation, selling out shows and pulling growing audiences into their doom-laden fever dream. Released in May this year on New Heavy Sounds, the band’s debut album ‘Sorrows’ was a hit with fans and critics, with glowing coverage from the likes of Metal Hammer, Kerrang, Classic Rock, The Needle Drop and Decibel Magazine. And rightly so. Their sound devours and delights in equal measure.
Following a run of shows with Faetooth earlier this year, Cwfen are now set for their own headline UK tour with dates in December and January. Agnes Alder, vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Cwfen comments,
“We’ve been living with Sorrows for months now, watching it find its way to people through those early shows supporting other bands, seeing how the songs change when they meet an audience. There’s something quite vulnerable about taking a record you’ve made in the quiet and bringing it into rooms full of strangers. But that’s where these songs want to be, I think.
A tour feels like the natural next step. And there’s something about doing it as the year turns darker that feels right for this music. We made something that belongs in the heavy months, so that’s when we want to share it.”
Cwfen UK tour dates:
5th December – Legends, Edinburgh
6th December – Nice N’ Sleazy, Glasgow
7th December – Blue Lamp, Aberdeen
16th January – Fuel, Cardiff
17th January – Wharf Chambers, Leeds
Order ‘Sorrows’:
Vinyl/CD – https://cargorecordsdirect.co.uk/products/cwfen-sorrows
Bandcamp – https://cwfen.bandcamp.com/album/sorrows
Digital – https://lnk.to/Cwfen_Sorrows
A band you want to see live:
Cwfen on stage is where the magic happens. They are primal. Leaping into the audience, a smear of black across her face, Agnes shifts effortlessly from guttural howls to soaring cleans, while the band roars. This is why word is spreading. And why people are showing up again and again.
Supporting the likes of Dopethrone, Agriculture, Faetooth and Witching, and having already shared a festival bill with heavyweights like Deafheaven, Chat Pile, Nordic Giants, Svalbard, and Liturgy, they hold their own. This is a band that sits right in the boundaries between the heavy genres, pulling in everyone from the young goths and to the die-hard metalheads alike.
Cwfen are:
• Agnes Alder – Vocals, rhythm guitar
• Guy DeNuit – Backing vocals, lead guitar
• Rös Ranquinn – Drums
• Mary Thomas Baker – Bass
Follow online: https://linktr.ee/cwfen
