WARFIELD’S NEW SINGLE IS “ONLY SHADOWS” – OR IS IT?
BLACK HEATHERS/CLEOPATRA RECORDS
Justin Warfield, whose eponymous side project WARFIELD has already been responsible for some of the most enthralling dark wave releases of the year, today previews his next release. Deathrock Devotionals Volume II, with a new single and video, “Only Shadows.”
The She Wants Revenge frontman is justifiably proud of this latest offering, if a little surprised at how the song came together.
“‘Only Shadows’ is a funny one. When I write songs, it happens one of two ways. Either it happens in a rush and my job is to get it down as it’s coming to or through me, or it’s a laborious slog and the song either comes out the other end better for it, or dies on the vine. There’s seldom an in-between.
“My process of writing lyrics is such that that 90% of the time the music is done and I write lyrics and melody after – generally while driving. And in that process, the first words and melody which come to me are the ones that make the final song with no editing, perfecting or revising. I look at that lyric and melody as a clue, a breadcrumb trail which it’s my job to follow, and who am I to say I can improve upon what was given to me in a moment of unconscious/subconscious inspiration?”
With “Only Shadows,” however, “The chorus came fast, but the verses and bridge went through least five different stages of lyrics and melody [and] still, nothing felt right.”
Then, suddenly, “a narrative came to me about a vampiric love story told through a very conventional visual representation of a night between a couple. I latched onto the idea of the eternal life element of the vampire lore, and when I saw, (literally, not figuratively, like seeing a film in your head) the scene in the car playing out beneath the streetlights, the entire song was unlocked.”
Now he could return to the original chorus, “change a few words to fit the new storyline, and then the verses, pre-chorus and bridge came in an instant.
“Sometimes, songwriting is about patience, listening, waiting, and not giving up on something that nags at you to be discovered.”
The accompanying (and so brilliantly atmospheric) video follows the lyric. “I wanted to do a fairly literal interpretation of that narrative, but tie it into the Deathrock Devotionals video universe we’ve created across my other recent videos.”
A recent eastern European tour allowed the video to be shot on location in Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and – of course – Romania (“the actual birthplace of the vampire story as we know it”), and that naturally influenced the finished shoot.
“We ended up getting to do a pretty verité style video which is more impressionistic and a mood-piece, than a formal story or narrative as we’d done in the past, which really lent itself to something special – highlighting both the similarities of those within our community (despite cultural or geographic divides), as well as how special the people we meet on tour are, and how grateful we are that they’ve become a part of what we’re building.”
As for Deathrock Devotionals Volume II itself, Justin simply says, “it feels to me at least like the logical extension of the series and storytelling.” With the EP releasing on November 14, he explains, “While it wasn’t intentional, it worked out so that if you’re a first time listener, Vol I invites you into the world, and Vol II takes you deeper down into the depths, while also stepping outside for some moments to have fun and celebrate being alive….even if there’s No Party.”
No Party? We’ll see about that!
Warfield
Deathrock Devotionals Volume II
(Black Heathers/Cleopatra Records)
Release Date: November 14, 2025
Pre-Order Deathrock Devotionals Volume II HERE
Artist Links
Photo Credit: Kateryna Debkaliuk
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: WARFIELD – DEATHROCK DEVOTIONALS
SPILL TRACK OF THE MONTH: WARFIELD – “ONLY SHADOWS”
