Atmospheric doom metal group Witnesses will release its Joy on 8 November, while "Joy (Beyond the sound of my voice)" and "Joy (Like a river)" are already out.

Witnesses on the forthcoming album: "Joy is the culmination of over five years honing a vision-of doom metal with a heavy emphasis on atmosphere and lyrics rich in imagery & narrative. Where interwoven guitar harmonies draw continued influence from 1990s British doom, complemented by soaring vocals and often mid-paced rhythms. And though the end result has been referred to by many writers as 'post', that's no problem; rather, it is a testament to a sound that probably doesn't fit neatly into any one category. But suffice to say there would be no Witnesses without the inspiration of those early Peaceville records. And that spirit is alive and well on Joy".

NYC-based Witnesses was established in 2016 with the release of the haunting cinematic ambient I. By 2019, the project had already expanded into new territory with To Disappear And To Be Nothing - a deeply personal album that drew influence from classic British doom metal, but with elements often described by fans and writers as post-metal. Since then, Witnesses has continued down this mainly two-track approach of ambient and metal releases, with ambient follow-ups II, III, and IV, and doom full-length albums, Doom II and The Collapse (2021's Poltergeists I EP was a detour into barren, acoustic-driven minimalism). Thematically, Witnesses alternates between stories and introspective lyrics, sometimes blending the two together. Link