Conjurer’s Official Bio
The future of British metal lies in safe hands with CONJURER, who continue their journey as the country’s most exciting young metal band with their incredible new album Páthos (Nuclear Blast).
A triumphant return from CONJURER following their world-renowned 2018 debut Mire, Páthos is a band flexing their creative muscles, deepening their approach and thought, and expanding their sound.
CONJURER’s debut full-length Mire (2018) was released to a storm of attention from across the metal world, garnering significant acclaim from Metal Hammer UK, Kerrang!, BBC R1, Visions Mag (DE), MetalSucks, Metal Injection, Loudwire and many more. Recipients of award nominations (Kerrang!, Heavy Music Awards, Metal Hammer’s Golden Gods) and countless albums of the year lists, Mire is a stunning listen, capturing the attitude of a young band who already know exactly who they are.
Hailed as one of the metal world’s most devastating, thrilling experiences, CONJURER are a band never content to rest. Following Mire’s release in 2018 the quartet soon toured Europe for the first time, appeared at multiple UK festivals, and support of doom titans Conan and Will Haven.
In the following years the band have toured the US twice, supporting Rivers of Nihil (stopping to record an Audiotree session along the way), and then Voivod, with Revocation. 2019 also saw CONJURER’s debut Download Festival appearance, thrilling a packed-out Dogtooth stage, and the release of the joyous collaborative project with Pijn, titled Curse These Metal Hands.
It was only at the end of 2019 that CONJURER closed out their triumphant Mire cycle, with a sold-out UK run – their debut headline tour. Using the COVID-19 pandemic to record and craft Páthos, CONJURER returned to the live setting performing at the Download Pilot 2021 and Bloodstock 2021 mainstages.
Conjurer’s Music
In 2018, I found myself diving into a new genre of music I hadn’t really explored before. A music that almost became the perfect soundtrack to jam to while playing Dark Souls 3. This was the darker side of “doom metal”, some of which is often described as “funeral doom.” These bands took the slow heaviness of doom and added more guttural vocals and dark imagery to the mix.
As I was jamming bands new to me, like Bell Witch and Hamferð along with some black metal favorites like Mayhem, Immortal, and Leviathan, I somehow stumbled upon Conjurer. I honestly don’t remember how I found them but am so glad I did.
Conjurer’s music is something completely unique to itself, in my opinion. You can hear glimpses of influences or similar styles but to try to corner them into a specific genre would be an injustice to the brilliance of their music. There are clear doom/sludge influences that would make it easy to compare them to early Mastodon in some respects but then they can do a 180 on you and start throwing down some insane black metal/grind-style blast beats.
The music of Conjurer is a masterclass in the incorporation of emotion into extreme music. Weaving heavy vocals and instrumentation with thoughtful and deep lyrics while not being afraid to incorporate more slow/melodic sections.
At time of writing this, I finally got to see the band live a few days ago at their show with Wake and Khemmis in Austin, TX at The Parish. Not only was this an incredibly welcomed post-pandemic show but one that I have been anxiously awaiting for years. Unfortunately, I missed the last two Conjurer shows in Austin, for various reasons, so getting to attend this one was like a dream come true.
I’ve watched a ton of videos of Conjurer playing live over the last few years and none of those could prepare me for what it was like to experience them live. The raw intensity and emotion that comes out in their playing is absolutely palpable. Those guys are giving every ounce of energy they have to their audience. From Noah’s interaction with the audience in-between songs, Dan’s incredibly powerful vocals (especially during the band’s song Hollow where he screams the lyrics without a mic), the way Brady supports Dan with his higher pitched screams, and Conor’s legendary windmill headbanging through the entire set, this band is something truly special.
Side note: my absolute favorite part of the show was during the last song when Conor hopped off the stage, ran through the audience, found a spot in the middle of the crowd to finish the set, and immediately handed his bass back to Brady while walking right back to the merch booth to take care of business like nothing happened. Consider my mind blown!
In addition to being incredible musicians, the guys in the band are super down to earth and appreciative of their fans. I got the opportunity to chat with both Conor and Brady for a few minutes throughout the show and was really impressed with how they handled themselves. Since the release of Mire, I have said that Conjurer is my absolute favorite modern metal band and that was solidified for me after this show.
If you have a chance to go see these guys live soon you absolutely should. I’ve been playing close attention to their career and can tell you that they are absolutely going to get huge within the scene. I have a gut feeling that seeing them in a smaller club atmosphere is going to become a bit more rare over the next few years as they move into bigger venues. I mean, they played the mainstage at Bloodstock in 2021 and a spot at Download 2021. I would not be surprised if gigs like this became their normal, moving forward into their career.. They absolutely deserve every bit of success that comes their way.
What’s Going on with Conjurer?
In July 2022, Conjurer released their follow-up to Mire called Páthos. This release came on the coattails of their joining the Nuclear Blast Records team. This album has received a ton of coverage and universal praise across the metal news scene, which is fantastic to see. Páthos takes what was special about Mire and builds upon that in a way that highlights how the band is maturing but staying true to themselves.
At time of writing this, Conjurer is in the last couple of weeks touring supporting Khemmis with Wake. If you have a chance to see one of these shows you absolutely should. All three bands were incredible! After wrapping up this tour, the boys will be heading back to the UK for a tour supporting Carcass and then to Europe to support Gojira for three shows.
I’m not sure what the rest of the year has in store for the band but I’m very excited to see what they have coming. Hopefully another US tour soon so I can see them again. We are also working to schedule some time to chat with the band about their experiences as a touring independent metal band so keep your eyes peeled for that here on McPapaJ’s Music Room!
Until then, give Conjurer a follow on all of their social media platforms and give their tunes a listen. If you are a vinyl collector, like myself, I highly recommend grabbing their albums. I have both Mire and Páthos on vinyl and give them frequent spins on my turntable. I’m really hoping we see a re-release of their first EP, I, on vinyl in the near future!
Follow Conjurer on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates and make sure to pick up some merch from their Nightshift Online Store!
Also, I just wanted to give a huge shoutout to Matt from HoldTight and Kristin from Nuclear Blast for providing me with the resources to make this article possible.
Conjurer live in Austin, TX at The Parish with Khemmis and Wake
