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’ 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.
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 – https://www.seetickets.com/event/cwfen/legends/3496131
6th December – Nice N’ Sleazy, Glasgow – https://www.seetickets.com/event/-cwfen/nice-n-sleazy-upstairs-/3496118
7th December – Blue Lamp, Aberdeen – https://www.eventim-light.com/uk/a/68701e6a6840857427516039/e/68b8a0fe3e4c7049c70abdd4
16th January – Fuel, Cardiff – https://wegottickets.com/event/676153
17th January – Wharf Chambers, Leeds – https://wegottickets.com/event/675768/
Dates with Paradise Lost:
20th March – Limelight 2, Belfast
21st March – Academy, Dublin
22nd March, Dolans, Limerick
Tickets – https://paradiselost.co.uk/tour-dates/
Order ’Sorrows’:
Vinyl/CD – https://cargorecordsdirect.co.uk/products/cwfen-sorrows
Bandcamp – https://cwfen.bandcamp.com/album/sorrows
Digital – https://lnk.to/Cwfen_Sorrows