Album release date June 19, 2020


Official website:

www.Scrollkeeper.net

Scrollkeeper finished its full length album, titled “Auto da Fe” in May 2020. The LP was engineered by Alexander K., with drums sessions taking place at Francisco’s Studios and the rest of recording at Nocturnal Sound. The LP was again mixed by Ricardo Camargo (TidalWAV Studios, Queens, NY) and mastered by Alexander K. (Nocturnal Sound, Houston). Cover artwork is by Last Light Designs.
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releases June 19, 2020
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Buy "Auto Da Fe" here

Auto da Fe

This track really came together after Simon and Alex went to see Amon Amarth. The band was kicking around some ideas, but seeing the show gave impetus to this song’s Viking theme. The lyrics to Valhalla’s Gate became a joint effort between Alex, Justin and Andrew. The themes of the song are valor and martial bravery in Viking age culture. For the second and third verses, the band decided to turn attention to later military heroes of Swedish history. The second verse focuses upon King Gustavus Adolphus who had a string of stunning victories in the 30 Years War, before falling in battle at Lützen. The third verse concerns Swedish forces that are currently serving on peace keeping missions in Northern Mali.

03 - Scrollkeeper - Valhalla's Gates

This is the intro and album opener. We felt we needed to add an opener and Alex quickly composed and recorded this in his home studio, Nocturnal Sound Records.

Last song to be added for this album, as the deadline and release dates were extended due to the Coronacalypse.

6/19/2020

01 - Scrollkeeper -  Event 201

02 - Scrollkeeper - LadyDeath

This song originally started as a concept based on the TV series “El capitán Alatriste”and it is about the Spanish Inquisition. The title, “Auto da Fe” (“Test of Faith”) was a ritual of public penance carried out in the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries, where condemned heretics and apostates were publicly punished by the authorities. It’s most extreme form was death by burning. The riffs came together rather fast. This is also the first Scrollkeeper song to feature an extended bass solo.

05 - Scrollkeeper - Auto Da Fe

Lyrics: Simon Marfleet	
Music: Alexander Kamburov
About the song: this is the band’s namesake song and one of the first tracks written by the band back in 2016! It is a bit of an anomaly as it is currently the only fantasy/sci-fi themed song in the band’s repertoire. The lyrics provide the backstory and origin of the Scrollkeeper, who was meant to be a shadowy (possibly female) figure, shaping events throughout time in order to influence the course of human civilization.

04 - Scrollkeeper - Scrollkeeper

This track is a lyrical collaboration between Simon and Justin. It’s another tale of bloodshed and battle, but this time taking place in modern times. The song is essentially about terrorist groups and the difficulty faced in attempting to eradicate them. This is one of the first songs written by the band, somewhere in early 2017.

08 - Scrollkeeper - Blood & Sand

09 - Scrollkeeper - Surrender

The music for this song originally came out from a long standing practice joke of “stump the drummer”. Alex reached deep into his Bulgarian ethnic roots and played some 7/8 odd rhythms. It was only fitting to tag on some faster speed metal riffs on to this. Despite his name being invoked in the title, this one has nothing to do with good Ol’ Scratch. Considering the jagged odd rhythm theme, Justin felt that mathematics was a fitting theme. The lyrics are about the feud between Sir Isaac Newton and Leibniz over which of the two should be credited with the development of calculus. The lyrics present a first-person perspective, but leave the door open to speculation as to which of the two luminaries in question is providing the narrative.

07 - Scrollkeeper - Devil's Calculus

This slower and doomier piece is Alex’s nod to Black Sabbath. Justin obliged with equally dark lyrics about Baron Gilles De Rais, a French knight and military leader who served alongside Joan of Arc during the 100 Years War. After the termination of English occupation and the end of the war, Giles devolved into life dissipation. He squandered his family’s wealth and reveled in excess and eccentricity, eventually even turning to the occult. He was accused, tried and sentenced for abducting local peasant children in order to torture and kill them in attempts to summon demons.

06 - Scrollkeeper - Gilles De Rais

This is the title track from our 2018 EP, remixed for the full length LP.

10 - Scrollkeeper - Path To Glory

Originally release on the Path to Glory EP.

Auto Da Fe

11 - Scrollkeeper - Fortune Favors The Bold

12 - Scrollkeeper - 12.Hellion (bonus)

Scrollkeeper are a Traditional Heavy Metal band from Houston, Texas that specializes in high energy, anthemic original material that is reminiscent of Metal's halcyon days.

After a revolving door of guitarists, Simon Marfleet (drums) and Justin McKittrick (vocals) asked Alexander K. to join on guitar in November of 2016. Soon after William Sullivan (bass) and John Morris (guitar) joined the band.

 

Out of these rehearsals eventually emerged the bulk of songs on the band's current set list.

During rehearsals for their debut show, Scrollkeeper recorded a 2 song EP titled “Fortune Favors the Bold”  which was tracked live in their Downtown Houston rehearsal studio and mixed and mastered at Nocturnal Sound Studios (Houston, TX).

 

The band’s debut show was as support act for Delain and Hammerfall in June 2017. Since then, Scrollkeeper has shared the stage with Manilla Road, Dirkschneider, Angra, Cloven Hoof and kept a busy show schedule.

 

The song “Surrender” was selected for the “Doomed and Stoned in Texas” compilation, featuring doom legends Solitude Aeturnus, deadhorse and other Texas stoner/doom bands with proceeds going towards hurricane relief.

 

The band finished an EP "Path to Glory" in 2018, recorded at Sound Arts Studios and Nocturnal Sound Studios (Houston, TX), engineered by Brian Baker and the band's guitarist, Alexander K. The EP was mixed and mastered by Ricardo Camargo @ Tidalwav Studios, Queens, New York. For the artwork, the band chose German illustrator Helge C. Balzer.

 

"Path to Glory" is available for sale on Bandcamp, Amazon, iTunes, Google Play and other media and streaming platforms. Houston residents can also buy a physical copy in CD format at Cactus Music, Sound Exchange, Vinal Edge (Houston), Music Millenium (Portland, OR), Waterloo Records and End of an Ear Records(Austin, TX), Radio Active Records (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Hog Wild Records (San Antonio, TX), Amoeba Records (Los Angeles, CA). “Path to Glory” is also sold in select US cities and in the EU though German label Underground Power Records.

 

For 2019 Scrollkeeper supported British heavy metal veterans Saxon, Canadian thrash legends Voivod, Enforcer, Warbringer and B.T.R. on their tour stops in Houston, TX. John Morris and William Sullivan exited the band, and after several months of auditions the band decided to continue with one guitarist. Soon thereafter, in January 2020, Andrew Sutton (Descent Into Madness, MercenaryX) joined on bass guitar.

 

The band is finishing it's first full length album, titled "Auto da Fe", scheduled for release June 19, 2019.