Biography

It’s clear that Los Angeles-based quartet Vitskär Süden operates from a shared musical consciousness. Having played together over the course of two decades, bassist/vocalist Martin Garner and drummer Christopher Martin unite effortlessly for a locked-in, half-time-heavy rhythm section approach. Guitarists Julian Goldberger and TJ Webber bring their own distinctive influences, touching on both the ambient and melodic but unified in an appreciation of layered sonic texture. Metal Hammer said of the band’s 2020 cosmic horror-inspired debut: “an undercurrent of foreboding power rumbles throughout”. Drawing on elements of heavy psych and prog, the album landed at #17 on Doom Charts’ best of the year list. The band’s latest, “The Faceless King,” is a dark fantasy concept album that expands the Vitskär Süden mythos, weaving the origin story of the record’s antihero namesake. Acclaimed horror author Laird Barron describes it as “Gorgeous and sinister. Shoots images into my brain of blacklight posters of secret rites in lost, desecrated valleys performed while some bastard '70s metal band croons a sword & sorcery drug rock accompaniment naming, song-by-song, a terrible thing that should remain nameless.” “The Faceless King” is out now and available on vinyl/CD/digital via Ripple Music.