Spellcaster

Spellcaster emerged from Portland, Oregon, as a straightforward heavy metal outfit whose dark melodic thrash style merges with dual-lead riffing rooted in the NWOBHM tradition, calling to mind Metal Church, Sanctuary, Metallica, and Iron Maiden. The group formed in 2009 as Leatherwitch before adopting the Spellcaster name the following year and delivering its first release, the Spells of Speed EP, on Heavy Artillery Records. Shortly after that EP appeared, the band toured alongside the Canadian thrash act Evil Survives, then returned home to begin tracking its debut full-length. Under the Spell arrived in 2011, yet successive personnel shifts combined with upheaval at the label left the band without a home. Refusing to disband, Spellcaster reassembled around a revised roster featuring Tyler Loney on vocals, Cory Boyd and Bryce Adams VanHoosen on guitar, Gabe Franco on drums, and Colin Vranizen on bass, then issued its self-titled second album on an independent basis. The record drew interest from Los Angeles-based Prosthetic Records, which promptly added the group to its roster. Recorded in Portland and Los Angeles under the guidance of producer Zack Ohren (All Shall Perish, Exmortus), Spellcaster’s third studio album, Night Hides the World, surfaced in summer 2016.