Witches of Farmland

Conceived on National Metal Day, Witches Mass seeks to combine 80s glam, thrash and modern death metal into a theatrical tour-de-force.

Despite hailing from the tiny town of Farmland, Ind., (population 1,333 in 2010) singer and main songwriter Chase B. Carothers is set on ruling the world with his songs based on death and rebirth.

The name “Witches Mass” was inspired by the Salem Witch Trials, which may have a closer connection with the metal community than one would assume.

“Anybody who has studied the witch trials knows it was basically bogus,” Carothers says, soft-spoken.

“Metal has always been the one genre where people stand up to things, stand up against something, regardless of what it is. Typically, you see metalheads–a lot of metalheads do not go with the crowd. Metalheads are outcasts,” he says. “So that’s pretty much what the Salem witches were, it’s they were pretty much outcasted [sic] from that society and falsely accused of some things that they didn’t do. Well in general, that happens to metal and metalheads a lot.”

Like the accusations against the West Memphis Three?

“Exactly. Exactly. That’s the modern-day witch hunt, what happened with the West Memphis Three.”

Witches Mass is in the process of writing and recording their debut EP, “Demise and Redemption”.

You can hear the full interview below.