The critically adored new SKELETONWITCH offering, Serpents Unleashed, debuted on this week’s Billboard 200 at #62, marking the highest chart position of the band’s career! The record’s first-week sales marked a 68% jump from those of its 2011 predecessor, Forever Abomination.
Additionally, Serpents Unleashed debuted at #5 on this week’s Vinyl Albums chart, #7 on the Hard Rock Albums chart, #10 on the Independent Albums chart, #17 on the Internet Albums chart and #20 on the Rock Albums chart. Serpents Unleashed also debuted on the Top Current Albums chart at #87 in Canada, where the album reached #11 on the Hard Music chart as well.
Formed in Ohio a decade ago, SKELETONWITCH has received considerable acclaim for its trademark “blackened metal,” which Metal Hammer calls “a potent brew of everything that makes metal so brilliant, vital and special.” The group’s relentless work ethic — personified by a 63-concerts-in-65-days test of endurance last year — is second to none in the genre, and true to form, the band is currently in the midst of an extensive North American tour with The Black Dahlia Murder. That tour will be followed by a US trek in early 2014 alongside Amon Amarth and Enslaved. International tour dates will be announced shortly.
Recorded earlier this year with Kurt Ballou (Converge, Isis, High On Fire), Serpents Unleashed features artwork by John Baizley (Baroness, Kylesa, Kvelertak), who also designed the memorable cover of the group’s 2007 breakthrough Beyond The Permafrost. Subsequent releases Breathing The Fire (2009) and Forever Abomination (2011) — both of which cracked the Billboard Top 200 — cemented the group’s reputation as one of metal’s most important acts, and tours with the likes of Danzig, Arch Enemy, Children of Bodom, Cannibal Corpse and a slot on Ozzfest helped to cultivate one of the genre’s most passionate fanbases.
SKELETONWITCH
w/ The Black Dahlia Murder, Fallujah, Noisem [remaining dates]
11/06/2013 West End Cultural Centre – Winnipeg, MB
11/07/2013 Louis’ Pub – Saskatoon, SK
11/08/2013 Avenue Theatre – Edmonton, AB
11/09/2013 The Den – Calgary, AB
11/11/2013 The Biltmore Cabaret – Vancouver, BC
11/12/2013 The Center – Spokane, WA
11/13/2013 WOW Hall – Eugene, OR
11/14/2013 Whiskey Dick’s Saloon – South Lake Tahoe, CA
11/15/2013 Strummer’s – Fresno, CA
11/16/2013 Glasshouse – Pomona, CA
11/17/2013 The Rock – Tucson, AZ
11/18/2013 Tricky Falls – El Paso, TX
11/19/2013 Club Patron – Odessa, TX
w/ The Black Dahlia Murder, Fallujah, Wolvhammer
11/20/2013 Conservatory – Oklahoma City, OK
11/21/2013 Outland Ballroom – Springfield, MO
11/22/2013 Firebird – St. Louis, MO
11/23/2013 Blue Moose – Iowa City, IA
11/24/2013 The Castle Theatre – Bloomington, IL
11/25/2013 Mojoes of Joliet – Joliet, IL
11/26/2013 The Intersection – Grand Rapids, MI
11/27/2013 The Machine Shop – Flint, MI
w/ Amon Amarth, Enslaved
1/17/2014 House of Blues – Las Vegas, NV
1/18/2014 Club Red – Phoenix, AZ
1/20/2014 Backstage Live – San Antonio, TX
1/21/2014 House of Blues – Dallas, TX
1/22/2014 House of Blues – Houston, TX
1/24/2014 Center Stage – Atlanta, GA
1/25/2014 The Ritz – Tampa, FL
1/26/2014 Revolution – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
1/29/2014 The Fillmore – Charlotte, NC
1/30/2014 NorVA – Norfolk, VA
1/31/2014 The Fillmore – Silver Springs, MD
2/01/2014 House of Blues – Boston, MA
2/03/2014 TLA – Philadelphia, PA
2/04/2014 Irving Plaza – New York, NY
2/07/2014 House of Blues – Chicago, IL
2/08/2014 Mill City Nights – Minneapolis, MN
2/09/2014 Grenada Theatre – Lawrence, KS
2/11/2014 Summit Theatre – Denver, CO
2/12/2014 Murray Theater – Salt Lake City, UT
2/14/2014 The Regency – San Francisco, CA
2/15/2014 Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA
w/ Amon Amarth
2/16/2014 House of Blues – San Diego, CA
“…their finest record to date, and one that assures that true metal will live on for many years!” – Skulls ‘n’ Bones
“Serpents Unleashed is a must-have…” – Slug
“The songwriting on the album is excellent. It’s extreme and intense, but there are plenty of melodic moments and the songs are memorable… Serpents Unleashed flies by in just over 30 minutes. It’s better to leave the audience wanting more than to overstay your welcome, and this album definitely delivers. It’s another step for SKELETONWITCH on their steady climb toward the top of the metal mountain, and before you know it, they’ll be at the summit.” – Loudwire
“All of the incredible essential elements of SKELETONWITCH are present: mad-gallop rabid-horse guitars? Check. 1920s madman submachine gun drumming? Check. Chance Garnette’s bug-eyed, leather-larynx, rock-gargling vocals? Triple check. Stop-on-a-dime time-signature change-ups? You know it. God bless these maniacs – they’ve done it again.” – eMusic
“…the true reason this album is so good, so perfect, are the songs and riffs, as I intimated to a point above. This group of songs is seriously one of the best your going to hear all year; they transcend merely being nice and heavy to become epic anthems chanted in the name of metal. This is the kind of album that makes me, and should make you, proud to be a metalhead.” – SD Metal
“Serpents Unleashed is another great dose of blackened thrash with a hint of old-school metal energy…” – Lambgoat
“…irrefutable proof that SKELETONWITCH is the kind of band that we can trust even with our eyes closed… their best record to date.” – Ghost Cult
“…vicious, chaotic, fun, and ultimately a thrashing time for those involved… one of the year’s best…” – Metal Observer
“Serpents Unleashed is a grand listen, as we hear a truly dedicated group practice their art masterfully with a real sense of authority. Perhaps the ingredients of their music have all been used before, but they’re top shelf spices, resulting in musical curry that’s not quite like anything you’ve ever savored before.” – Love is Pop Album of the Day
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