Swedish doom folk trailblazers Witchcraft have announced a new five-song EP titled A Sinner’s Child, set for release on March 13 through Heavy Psych Sounds Records. The EP’s emotionally charged title track is already available to stream.
The release follows the strong critical response to Witchcraft’s 2025 comeback album Idag, and finds the band stepping into a more restrained and personal space. Rather than expanding outward, this new material turns inward, offering a quieter but no less powerful statement.
At the center of the EP is Witchcraft founder, vocalist, and creative force Magnus Pelander, who pares the music down to its core. Across the record, he moves between the melodic proto-doom atmosphere of Drömmen Om Död Och Förruttnelse and Själen Reser Sig, the radiant folk tones of A Sinner’s Child and its companion piece Sinner’s Clear Confusion, and the somber acoustic weight of Even Darker Days. Each song is shaped by Pelander’s hands-on, multi-instrumental approach, giving the EP a direct and immediate feel.
A Sinner’s Child presents Pelander’s songwriting at its most exposed and emotionally direct. The EP acts as a clear channel to the haunting melodies and emotional gravity that have defined Witchcraft for more than twenty years. It highlights the enduring strength of voice, melody, and raw rock elements reduced to their essentials, while also serving as a reflective closing chapter to Idag.
The band’s evolution stretches back to 2000, when Pelander formed Witchcraft in Örebro following the breakup of his previous group Norrsken. The band’s self-titled debut in 2004 became a generational touchstone, helping ignite a retro-focused movement that later developed into its own subgenre. Still, Witchcraft continued to evolve rather than remain fixed in place.
Albums like Firewood in 2005 and The Alchemist in 2007 introduced more progressive ideas, while 2012’s Legend made it clear the band had moved beyond the analog revivalism they once helped pioneer within modern doom and heavy rock. The 2016 double album Nucleus expanded their sound into richer, heavier doom territory, and 2020’s Black Metal shifted sharply into sparse, moody acoustic minimalism that echoed Pelander’s early solo work while breaking new ground for the band.
With Idag, those decades of exploration were finally pulled together into a cohesive whole. A Sinner’s Child now follows as a quieter, more intimate reflection—one that looks inward while honoring everything Witchcraft has become.
