WAYFARER are back. "Perdition's Crossing," the Colorado band's first new music since 2023's widely acclaimed American Gothic, is out now — and it points somewhere they have not gone before.
The track features David Eugene Edwards of 16 HORSEPOWER and WOVENHAND, and it trades the black metal scaffolding of WAYFARER's earlier work for something starker: dark, cinematic Americana, more desolate than anything else in their catalogue and no less haunting for it.
For a band whose entire identity has been built on the mythology of the American West, the guest is not a novelty booking. "We have long walked a path that was very much informed by Denver Sound legends like 16 HORSEPOWER and WOVENHAND, among many others," the band said. "To work alongside someone like David Eugene Edwards is not only a bit of a dream come true for us, but also a perfect way for us to start down new roads of the WAYFARER sound that are being fleshed out. We are excited for this collaboration to finally see the light of day."
Recorded in Colorado, the song was produced by Ben Chisholm (Chelsea Wolfe), engineered by James Barone (BEACH HOUSE), mixed by Iver Sandøy (ENSLAVED) and mastered by Alan Douches (CONVERGE). The accompanying video was directed by Brendan McGowan, whose credits include striking work for TRIBULATION and IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT.
"Perdition's Crossing" is drawn from Riders Of The Setting Sun, an eight-track album due in autumn 2026 via Vesperian. Further details are still to come.
Vesperian is also marking the release with a strictly limited 12" maxi-single: 300 copies worldwide on black vinyl, in a foldout sleeve carrying lyrics, band comments, track-by-track notes and artwork by graphic novelist Julian Brier. Side A holds the title track; side B carries two exclusives — a remix by Chisholm and a field recording. Of the 300, 200 are allocated to the US and 100 reserved for Europe through the Vesperian webstore. Pre-orders opened on July 23 and the record ships in mid-August.
WAYFARER discography:
- Children Of The Iron Age (2014)
- Old Souls (2016)
- World's Blood (2018)
- A Romance With Violence (2020)
- American Gothic (2023)
- Perdition's Crossing (2026)
WAYFARER is:
- Shane McCarthy — vocals, guitars
- Joe Strong-Truscelli — guitars
- James Hansen — bass
- Isaac Faulk — drums