November 11th marked the official release of “Blasphemy Blues”, the debut full-length from Swedish Melodic Blackened Death / thrash Metallers VITTRA. In celebration of the release, VITTRA has unveiled an official music video for the track “Self-Loathing”. The idea for the video is about getting high on self-pity, portraying how we sometimes seem to indulge in our self-imposed mental torture and punishment.
Vocalist David Döragrip notes: “I wrote this one for myself when I was in a dark place. It helps to put words to your thoughts.”
From a songwriting perspective, guitarist Johan Murmester remembers: “Alex presented an idea of a pretty straightforward verse and a more melodic pre-chorus, all in the feel of AT THE GATES, ‘The Haunted’, and one of his favorite drummers, Adrian Erlandsson. I VITTRA-fied the riffing, sort of making it my own, added some parts, but kept the original feel. Great song to play!”
Originally called VILDVITTRA, based on the characters created by Astrid Lindgren as part of Ronja Rövardotter, the band’s name later evolved into VITTRA, inspired by the mythical creatures appearing in Swedish folk stories. And while Swedish folk is a recurring theme weaving in and out of their music, the band is firmly rooted in Melodic Death and Thrash Metal in the veins of DISSECTION, early IN FLAMES, MEGADETH and AT THE GATES.
“Blasphemy Blues” is packed with the all the band’s trademarks: a combination of crushing death metal with strong songwriting and catchy hooks. Produced at SolnaSound in the Fall of 2021, supported by both Simon Johansson (SOILWORK) and Mike Wead (King Diamond, MERCYFUL FATE), “Blasphemy Blues” was finalized in April 2022. Lawrence Mackrory (BLOODBATH, LIK, FIRESPAWN) handled the mixing and mastering. Havancsák Gyula created the cover artwork.
“Blasphemy Blues” track listing:
- Colossal
- Halls of Ancients
- Satmara
- Lykantropi
- Feeding Frenzy
- Self-Loathing
- Temptation
- Sommarfödd
- Undead
You can watch the official music video for “Self-Loathing” in the following video:
