Vitskär Süden

Vitskär Süden operates as a Los Angeles quartet devoted to doomy, progressive, neo-psychedelic hard rock. Its members are bassist and vocalist Martin Garner, drummer Christopher Martin, and guitarists Julian Goldberger, who maintains an active career directing films, and TJ Webber. The group’s dense, hallucinatory yet expansive night-time aesthetic draws upon a broad spectrum of classic rock and metal precedents, encompassing Black Sabbath-style doom riffs, Mellotrons and atmospheric devices reminiscent of King Crimson, Hawkwind’s expansive cosmic clamor, and the dramatic space-rock signatures of Roger Waters and early Pink Floyd. Seasoned composers and performers—Garner and Martin have collaborated for more than twenty years—the musicians remain detached from prevailing trends or local scenes. Their self-released, self-titled debut arrived in 2020 and earned widespread praise from American metal outlets and European rock publications. Rather than touring in support, the band withdrew to rehearse and develop new compositions. Ripple Music signed the group in 2021. In 2022 they issued the advance singles “Archdiocese of Worms” and “Shepherd’s on the Roadside,” followed in November by the internationally lauded dark-fantasy concept album The Faceless King. The record traces the origin story of its antihero namesake, whose successive rebirths and insatiable appetite for earthly and cosmic dominion extend the horror undertones of the debut while advancing further into fantasy through deliberate world-building, thereby enlarging the mythology and shadowy presences first introduced on that earlier release. Vitskär Süden and Don Cento recorded and co-produced The Faceless King at Studio 64 in Los Angeles; Cento mixed the album and James Driscoll mastered it. The vinyl edition included a bonus 24-page Dungeons and Dragons module designed for compatibility with the fifth edition of the storied fantasy role-playing game, deepening the album’s conceptual presentation. In October 2023, Garner began tracking a bass part for Rod Temperton’s Michael Jackson hit “Thriller.” His bandmates initially assumed he was simply improvising toward a new original, yet the familiar line soon became clear; they recorded the arrangement the same day and issued their psychedelic, shadowy, doom-laden version as a single on Bandcamp in time for Halloween.