Dutch singer-songwriter Charlotte Wessels revealed an intense new single “Ode To the West Wind ” featuring Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy) off of the new album The Obsession via Napalm Records.
Check out the video for “Ode To The West Wind“ featuring Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy).
Charlotte Wessels says, “I’m thrilled to present the fifth single from The Obsession—and my fifth collaboration with the incomparable Alissa White-Gluz. Many of our songs together are inspired by or based on classic poetry, and “Ode to the West Wind,” drawn from Percy Shelley’s poem of the same name, is the latest addition to this thematic journey. Shelley’s poem reflects his admiration for the untamable force of nature and his thoughts on his own legacy.
For the music video, we explored humanity’s impact on the natural world (spoiler: it’s not pretty) by reimagining iconic artworks like Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog and Raphael’s cherubs from the Sistine Madonna, only this time suffused with pollution, wings made of trash and covered in toxic waste. I’m incredibly excited about how this song has evolved through my collaboration with the band and Alissa; I can’t wait to unleash this wall of sound at our upcoming shows, and, of course, I can’t wait for you to experience this song in the full context of The Obsession—out in just a few days!”
The album consists of former bandmates Delain Timo Somers (guitars, additional arrangements), Otto Schimmelpenninck van der Oije (bass), Joey Marin de Boer (drums), and Sophia Vernikov (piano/hammond), who joined her in elevating The Obsession to a new, heavier sound. Along with cello by Elianne Anemaat and arrangements by Vikram Shankar (Silent Skies, Pain of Salvation), the album was mixed by Guido Aalbers (Muse, Coldplay, The Gathering) and mastered by Andy VanDette (Porcupine Tree, VOLA, Dream Theater).
“Chasing Sunsets,” the first track, is the builder before the listener steps into this surreal exploration. It’s hard to say what the best tracks are on the album; there’s too many, and they all have a different energy. “Crying Room” dives into the darkness and delivers a hypnotic escape into her world. “Ode to the West Wind” is an ethereal navigation into another world. It’s vibing with ABBA, complete with smooth harmonies, exploding into metal. “All You Are,” unveils the evolution of her music. This is one hell of an album so get ready.
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Photo Credit: Tim Tronckoe
