All Them Witches formed in Nashville, TN in 2012 and quickly stood out in a packed Music City crowd with a sound that was equal parts glowering, distortion-soaked rock and bone-shaking blues with touches of psychedelia. The band reached cult classic status with releases such as 2013s Lightning at the Door and 2015s Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, reaching a critical peak with 2020s Nothing as the Ideal, which then saw the band play Bonnaroo and tour with the likes of Mastodon, Primus, and Ghost. But it almost came to an end in 2024. Following the departure of original drummer and co-founder Robby Staebler, Parks and McLeod wrestled with how to move forward, and if they even should. The band brought on longtime friend Christian Powers to fill in on the drum kit to play some dates they had on the books. “At the time, we weren’t planning on keeping this going,” admits McLeod. “We wanted to honor those dates that were already booked. After the second night, we felt like there was this new life in the band. We were reawakened and intrigued. There were still things that we wanted to do. We had something to prove. The album initially sprouted from the positivity of being excited about playing again.” Park concurs, “It turned out to be a breath of fresh air. Through a little bit of suffering, we came out on the brighter side. It re-sparked our love for performing and writing.”
Today, the band announces their seventh studio offering, House of Mirrors. Produced by Eddie Spear, the record showcases the band’s growth and the unbreakable bond that is central to their music. “Our sound is based on the interplay between the different instruments and members,” McLeod shares. “A lot of it has to do with our chemistry. This unique dynamic enabled us to make a genuinely well-rounded record.”. “We all have open communication,” agrees Parks. “Everyone speaks his mind. We hadn’t released a new album in more than five years, so we definitely had quite a bit of experience to pull from, and we were more prepared than ever.” With the announcement, the band also shares their new song and visualizer for “Starting Line” today. “It turned out great, thanks to Eddie Spear.” McLeod shares. “We crushed the recording, but it was totally different before Eddie came into the process. Parks and I had tracked the first and third verse alone—just us. We were both aiming into the same microphone. Parks is singing into the same mic, and it’s also picking up our acoustic guitars.”
All Them Witches tracked House of Mirrors at Blackbird Studio in Nashville with producer Eddie Spear. Tapping into the natural chemistry between them, they cut this entire body of work in less than a week. “We did more writing and pre-production for House of Mirrors than any other album we’ve ever done,” McLeod notes. “We loved working with Eddie when he engineered Sleeping Through The War. He reached out and wanted to do a whole record. He was heavily involved from the pre-production stage. We used some really old equipment. I wanted my guitar sound to be powerful on every song. It’s slamming the whole time.” House of Mirrors captures a band renewed and refocused. “A lot of these songs are about leaving home, facing expectations, and carving your own way into this world as messed up and strange as it is,” Parks shares. “Your wealth of knowledge grows, and dealing with the burden of this knowledge is really intense. The album is essentially about dealing with fictious roles that are placed onto you by the world, things you’re born into that aren’t necessarily who you are as an individual, meeting and breaking expectations, and following your own moral compass.”. “Even after all of these years, this band is our creative freedom,” McLeod says. “It’s brought me more joy than you can imagine.”. “I’m grateful for this every day” concludes Parks. “Being in a band, you gain brothers for life. I can’t imagine living without these guys.”
House of Mirrors will be released on May 29th via BMG. Pre-orders are now available here.
Photo credit: Travis Shinn
