The Return Of Magik

by Rwake

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Frank Hardlic The sheer visceral quality of this masterpiece leaves me stunned and in awe. Favorite track: Distant Constellations and the Psychedelic Incarceration.

lithiumchief An incredible sonic ritual. This album brought me to tears at two separate points. Genuinely some of the most intense and moving music out there. And the musicianship is top notch. More of an experience than an album. Favorite track: With Stardust Flowers.

Wez Barber Love this. Made me think of Cobalt today. Great mix of sludge and prog. Very inspiring and thought provoking. Favorite track: Distant Constellations and the Psychedelic Incarceration.

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1.	You Swore We'd Always Be Together 07:59	buy track
2.	The Return of Magik 11:55
3.	With Stardust Flowers 07:58	buy track
4.	Distant Constellations and the Psychedelic Incarceration 13:55
5.	In After Reverse 10:21	buy track
6.	Φ 01:42	buy track

about

After 13 years of silence, an unsettling sound that is strangely familiar yet somehow even more haunted re-emerges from the Arkansas depths. There is no mistake as to what this is. RWAKE has released a new transmission. The Return of Magik has arrived.

Years have now fed into an album that reaches into a swirling, cosmic unknown - RWAKE have grown, and the perspective of the material has shifted accordingly. Overwhelming at its peak and haunting during moments of respite, The Return of Magik is undeniably RWAKE; and every moment feels like an emotionally engrossing journey.

Arrangements carefully and thoughtfully built in layers over a period of years lend mystique and a feeling of building toward a cathartic release. There is no box into which the material might fit other than one with the band’s name on it.

Recorded in early 2024 at East End Sounds in Hensley, Arkansas, The Return of Magik introduces RWAKE’s new lead guitarist Austin Sublett with a barrage of shredded solos suited to the angular, progressive metal riffing of the album’s most jaw-clenching moments, while presenting a through-line of molten, immersive ambience. The opener “You Swore We’d Always Be Together“ - already a fixture of live sets - and the expansive sprawl of “Distant Constellations and the Psychedelic Incarceration” move with cruelty and grace alike. Foreboding, syncopated riffs sway against Moog-driven space and guttural bellows. The Return of Magik’s songs stand alone as individualized post-metallic blends of genres.

RWAKE remain dually fronted; Chris Terry’s powerful vocals lay against Brittany Fugate’s visceral screams. Jeff Morgan returns to the drum kit, in addition to acoustic guitar and 12-string bass. Bassist/noisemaker Reid Raley, Sublett, and fellow guitarist John Judkins set an instrumental backdrop that is vast and engrossing in itself - quiet, contemplative passages often explode into gut-wrenching, doomed out distortions. The Return of Magik burns brighter and beyond the ferocity of the band’s already storied catalog.

Although the Magik may be bleak, the manner in which RWAKE revels in it can only be called a celebration.

credits

released March 14, 2025

2025 Relapse Records

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about

Rwake Little Rock, Arkansas

RWAKE reemerge with The Return of Magik - an emotionally engrossing journey through the lens of ethereal sludge/doom, and progressive metal that ventures beyond the confines of any genre.

Recommendations

shows

Oct 8

Westside Bowl

Youngstown, OH
Nov 8

The 1865

Southampton, UK
Nov 9

Scala

London, UK
Nov 11

Strange Brew

Bristol, UK
Nov 13

Rescue Rooms

Nottingham, UK
Nov 14

Digital

Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
Nov 15

Multiple Venues

Glasgow, UK

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