Swedish forest rockers Besvärjelsen have unveiled the evocative lyric video for “Drifters On A Quiet Stream”, a striking power ballad that drifts between melancholy and quiet radiance. Rendered in soft watercolour textures and surreal imagery, the video echoes the visual language of the band’s forthcoming third full-length, Till Glömskan Ad Oblivionem (“Into Oblivion”), due on 28 August via Magnetic Eye Records.

Drummer Erik Bäckwall reveals that the song’s earliest incarnation carried the working title “Elton”, nodding to Elton John as one of its unexpected inspirations. “The intro and main riff were originally meant for another track,” he explains. “When I played it to our former bass player Johan, he told me to build an entirely new song around that part. I’m very glad I listened.”

Vocalist Lea Amling Alazam describes the track as an intimate dialogue with the self. “It explores the ever-present companion that follows you through life – the voice that comforts and critiques,” she says. “When writing the lyrics, I found an old notebook with the phrase ‘…my ghost and I’. I don’t remember where it came from, but it stayed with me. It felt like an honest way to describe living alongside your own anxiety, and I knew I wanted to build the song around that idea.”

Besvärjelsen have long embraced the “forest rock” moniker, and on Till Glömskan Ad Oblivionem they refine it into something both atmospheric and fiercely emotive. If early impressions are anything to go by, the Swedes may well be delivering one of the year’s most compelling rock albums – cool in tone, but burning with creative intent. Link