Wayfarer

Kerrigan are one of the most promising newcomers from Germany playing traditional heavy metal. The band was formed in Freiburg in 2019 by Bruno Schotten (guitars, bass) and Jonas Weber (vocals, guitars). The duo recorded a demo tape consisting of original compositions “Intruders”, “Force And Will” and “Heavy Metal 2020” plus a cover version of “Rest In Peace” by Wolf (UK). »Heavy Metal 2020« was later released by Fucking Kill Records on tape and vinyl (re-issued by High Roller).For their first full-length album »Bloodmoon«, Kerrigan inked a deal with High Roller Records. »Bloodmoon« was recorded with the help of session drummer Jonathan Döring, an old friend of the band, and received very favorable reviews in the metal press when it was released back in 2023. Together with Jakob on bass, Jonathan is now a regular member of Kerrigan.Three years after »Bloodmoon«, it’s time for the follow-up album by the name of »Wayfarer«.“Dreamy, melancholic and pretty versatile,” this is how guitarist and singer Jonas Weber describes the second Kerrigan album. For him, »Wayfarer« is more or less a direct continuation of »Bloodmoon«: “Regarding the songwriting, »Wayfarer« continues where »Bloodmoon« has left off. The idea for the song ‘Blood And Steel’, for example, dates back to the mixing phase of »Bloodmoon« at Iguana Studios, and the demo recordings of ‘Surrender‘ and ‘Wayfarer‘ developed parallel to the work on the first album.”“For me, the record is everything I love about bands from the eighties,” adds guitarist Bruno Schotten. “Songs, that are accessible but have so many interesting details that they never get boring. We said to ourselves: maybe it’s indeed time for a modern heavy metal classic, and I do hope that with songs like ‘The Ice Witch’ or ‘Blood And Steel’ we came one step closer to our aim. Furthermore, I’d say that »Wayfarer« is a very varied album. Apart from orthodox speed metal, you can find everything on there; even a happy, uplifting song like ‘Fighter’.”Who knows, maybe Kerrigan have indeed achieved to write a modern heavy metal classic?