Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
On December 13, 2017, the worldwide metal community collectively lost the greatly talented singer WARREL DANE (Sanctuary, Nevermore).
His passing from a heart attack happened during the recording of his sophomore solo album, taking place at the time in São Paulo, Brazil. Dane had teamed up with Brazilian musicians Johnny Moraes (guitar), Thiago Oliveira (guitar), Fabio Carito (bass), and Marcus Dotta (drums) as his touring band in 2014. In the fall of 2017, the group was hard at work within Orra Meu Studio, São Paulo, when the loss of Warrel occurred.
Dane’s passing left his fellow musicians, fans, friends, and family, as well as his label in shock, thus putting the status of the highly anticipated second album in limbo.
Now, after Century Media Records’ review of the material that could actually be completed, using vocals from various studio and pre-production sessions with Warrel, the decision was made to release his final recordings.
Tracklist:
01. Ethereal Blessing
02. Madame Satan
03. Disconnection System
04. As Fast As The Others
05. Shadow Work
06. The Hanging Garden (THE CURE cover)
07. Rain
08. Mother Is The Word For God
On October 26th, ‘Shadow Work‘ will be released from Century Media Records as a special edition CD media-book offering with a 44-page booklet; a gatefold LP plus CD, a 12-page LP booklet, and on all digital platforms. There will be photos, lyrics and moving statements from the musicians included. It will also include illustrations by Travis Smith for each individual song, created as his personal tribute to Warrel and further explained in his personal liner notes.
Smith also created the ‘Shadow Work‘ album art following ideas and concepts that had been previously discussed with Warrel, something he commented on by saying:
“[Warrel] told me he wanted the cover for this one to be a personification of one of its songs, affectionately titled ‘Sweet Madame Satan, And Why.’ I dug up the skeleton of an old idea we’d talked about once before, and with a few details and alterations of his own, it was exactly what he had envisioned. He ‘loved it,’ approved it, and then gave me an outline for what he wanted to do for the back cover to complement it as a sort of prologue.
“I finished the additional artwork taking inspiration from old conversations, titles, absorbing passages from his notebooks, and some lyrics that he’d passed along earlier…
“Thank you for everything these past 20 years… It was an honor. It will be missed. You are missed. I know we did you proud.“
The musicians and friends of Dane’s that performed on the record, Thiago, Johnny, Fabio, and Marcus add:
“To give birth to a work like this, is for us a tribute to someone that was like family and honor his memory by sharing some of the savage poetry that he created and was ultimately so proud of.
“Warrel came into our lives like a storm, took us into a very intense ride, we roamed endless roads into the unknown, into places that we never dreamed of both inside and outside our minds, and left. He was someone who lived with us, dreamed with us and enjoyed our hospitality, and in return gave us so much back. Some of us acted like his mother, some of us saw him as a father figure, some of us took care of him in some of his darkest moments. Yet he was a friend, and somehow, will be always there.
“To record such an album, and to work alongside an artist as gifted as Warrel, is somehow like being enthralled by his brightest light, and, at the same time being engulfed by his darkest shadow. There is so much to say, and yet nothing to say. In the meantime, we are proud to share this portrait of the storm we went through in form of art. Light, peace and love.“
A first song and album pre-sales will be available on August 31st.
