Charlotte Wessels and The Obsession announce “Mute Swan Empire” for February 2027

Charlotte Wessels and her band The Obsession will release their second studio album together, “Mute Swan Empire”, on 5 February 2027 via Napalm Records, according to metal.de. Its 15 songs look at different human responses to a world in crisis, from denial, blind obedience and selective compassion to hope and solidarity.

Wessels says she did not set out to write a concept album, but realised the new songs were connected and formed a larger story. The title draws on the legend of the swan song, asking whether humanity, facing ecological destruction and social crises, still has a last moment of beauty left. “In Leta Via” uses texts by Hildegard von Bingen, “The Hermit Song” refers to Julian of Norwich, “One Day They Will Come For You” was inspired by Martin Niemöller’s well-known confession, and “Bells Of Lynn” is based on a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. “Incantations”, first shared on Patreon in March 2024, appears in a new arrangement.

The musicians gathered for the 2024 album “The Obsession” have become a permanent band. The record was produced by Joost van den Broek at Sandlane Recording Facilities, with Timo Somers playing a key role in the arrangements, cellist Elianne Anemaat and Vikram Shankar on orchestral and keyboard arrangements.

In February 2027 the band sets out on its first headline tour of Europe and the UK, from Sint-Niklaas on 4 February to Utrecht on 27 February, with Ad Infinitum singer Melissa Bonny as support everywhere except Essen. The dates closest to Romania: Zlín on 14 February (Masters of Rock Cafe), Vienna on 15 February (Szene Wien), Budapest on 17 February (Barba Negra) and Kraków on 18 February (Hype Park), according to metal.de.

Charlotte Wessels is a Dutch symphonic metal singer, born in Zwolle in 1987.