Inkubus Sukkubus - Barrow Wake (2016)

Inkubus Sukkubus’s 20 th CD release sees them returning to their dark folklore roots.

Formed in the summer of 1989 when Candia Ridley (now McKormack), Tony McKormack, and Adam Henderson met at college in Gloucester studying graphic design, the three students discovered they shared an interest in magic, the supernatural and dark alternative music. Over the ensuing years, the band went through numerous line-up changes – always with Candia and Tony at the core – and travelled extensively, touring their distinctive brand of Gothic Pagan folk rock to such far-flung places as Mexico, Russia, Australia, the USA, Scandinavia, Europe, and the length and breadth of the UK.

As Gloucestershire natives – Candia from the Severnside village of Saul, and Tony from Cheltenham – the two have always had a fascination with the folklore of the area, with songs retelling tales of river goddesses, witch persecution and magical landscapes. As well as looking at more general British mythology – shape-shifting, seasonal agricultural celebrations and witch-finding – the new CD Barrow Wake explores some peculiarly Gloucestershire dark tales while giving a nod towards the horror movies of Candia and Tony’s youths, such as The Wicker Man and Blood on Satan’s Claw.

We hear the sorry tale of the Witch of Berkeley, a woman who lived life to the full only to find her hedonistic ways catching up with her in spectacular and demonic style; the mystical, almost hallucinogenic realm of Forest Hill, based on Gloucestershire’s May Hill; and the county’s famously picturesque viewpoint Barrow Wake finds its darker associations explored.

The Rape of Maude Bowen is based on the ‘true’ stories surrounding Maude’s Elm in Cheltenham, dealing with incest, murder and witch persecution; while The Campden Wonder is a similarly fantastic tale with a strange twist, set in the Cotswold town of Chipping Campden in the 17 th century.