AIR DRAWN DAGGER

track-list:
Hymn of the Hag
Sanctifound
Sweatin’
Teeth
Skinwalkers
Cadavers
MaidenMotherCrone
Castle
Necromancer
Coma
Apparitions (ft. Trash Boat, Tobi Duncan)
Bellyaches

Air Drawn Dagger are:
Maisie Manterfield – vocals
Lewis Budden – guitars
Ross Dore – drums

tourdates 2025:
05.04. Corporation UK/Sheffield
04.-06.07. RADAR Festival UK/Manchester

BBC Introducing:
“Superb, truly epic tracks here. Somewhere between Hot Milk & Beartooth. Unreal!”
Bring The Noise:
“With enough teenage angst to fill any nostalgic millennial who misses the good old days of 2000s emo, Air Drawn Dagger are ones to watch!”
ION Magazine:
“This is a band for the weirdos, the misfits, the others…”
Distorted Sound:
“It’s mind-blowing what Air Drawn Dagger have done here, not only cementing their skills and chemistry in being versatile as a band, but getting the listener excited to hear what’s to come next for the trio.”

Formed in Sheffield, Air Drawn Dagger blend raw emotion and defiance into a sound that defies genre.
Their name, taken from Macbeth, symbolizes the chaos and emotional outbursts that fuel their music.
Air Drawn Dagger invite you on a spellbinding journey with ‘A Guide for Apparitions‘, their debut album that fuses macabre mysticism with multi-genre-infused rock.
Building on the eerie energy of their ‘Seance Season Mixtape’ and the mythic defiance of their ‘Songs to Fight the Gods To’ EP, this debut album continues their exploration of the mystical and the supernatural.
Drawing inspiration from Grimoires and pagan traditions, the album delves into themes of necromancy, witchcraft, and the perilous balance between summoning and control.
Apparitions—seen across cultures as spirits of lost souls or gods—serve as a recurring motif, tying to Celtic and Norse pagan beliefs and archetypes like the Tridevi or ‘Maiden, Mother, Crone‘.
These spiritual cycles echo across the album, blending ancient esotericism with raw emotional power.
Produced by Neil Kennedy (Creeper, Boston Manor), each track pulls listeners through haunted tales and cosmic chaos, conjuring imagery from Witch Trials to ghost lore.
With elements of alchemy and apocalyptic prophecy, ‘A Guide For Apparitions’ is more than an album;
it’s a darkly poetic ritual that navigates the thin veil between the living and the beyond.
BBC Introducing championed Air Drawn Dagger’s early releases, and they soon found themselves on major playlists like Pop Punk Generation, Emo Anthems, and All New Rock.
Air Drawn Dagger’s momentum is undeniable.
They’ve sold out major headline shows, including the legendary Leadmill, and completed sold-out UK dates with Millie Manders.
Recent dates with Lake Malice, Dream State, and AVIVIA saw back-to-back sellouts along with curating their own stage at the Tramlines Festival Fringe.
With over 250,000 views on ‘You Should Have Known Better’, featuring on the Kerrang! chart and multiple tracks premiering on BBC Introducing, the band’s cult-like following continues to grow.
‘Hymn Of The Hag’:
“The album intro, inspired by Celtic folk songs opens with rain, distant bells and acoustic guitar. The haunting vocal sets the tone of unrest while the lyrics of ‘her killing days are at a halt’ act as a warning… The electric feedback and synth rises at the end of the track, act as a signal of the ‘crossing realms’ before we are fully launched into the album.”
‘Sancifound’:
“Keeping the acoustic guitar for the intro riff (inspired by Lamb of God) catapults us into a realm which is intense, rainy and unsettling. We are introduced to the album’s protagonists ‘The Martyrs’ and welcomed with open arms, we are indoctrinated into the fold, warned against evil in the lake and thrust into the mosh pits as the synths and riffs hit hard.”
‘Sweatin”:
“A thinly veiled track about social anxiety, a song for the days when you would rather be dead than perceived. A realisation that we’ve entered a realm we were never meant to enter. The lyrics, ‘If you see me out tonight, just know I’ll be terrified’ relate to both the themes of anxiety and the character’s fear of what is looming in the woods.”
‘Teeth’:
“The listener has met The Martys, now we meet one of the villains, the Skinwalkers. Creatures that revel in chaos and division. There’s something of a relatability to the Skinwalkers’ need to accept the world being on fire, a sense of them being a shadow we’d rather not admit to. Additionally, we nod to our main villain in this track, the all-powerful ‘Stataris’. Sonically very 808-driven and hip-hop-inspired production, it’s a flavour change as no two songs sound the same.”
‘Skinwalkers’:
“Weare snapped straight into this track as narratively we hear what it’s like to experience the Skinwalkers and how they have a hold over their prey. Lyrically the song is steeped in a lack of trust and an unwillingness to be vulnerable, whilst simultaneously begging for the illusion of love and acceptance. A commentary on navigating not only outward relationships but also the one with yourself. A track that blends dark bouncy guitar with disco basslines and drums before a post-hardcore middle 8 rattles through your core.”
‘Cadavers’:
“The closest thing to a ballad on the album, the rain sounds return again to greet us at the halfway mark and affirm our soggy setting in the woods, by the lake. An anthem for giving up and welcoming the end. A song somewhere between sorrow and nihilism, designed to be sung at the top of your lungs.”
‘MaidenMotherCrone’:
“The intro is a chopped-up ‘Carnatic’ sample, a classic Hindu vocal style to establish the theme of The Tridevi AKA the Maiden, Mother and Crone. The same archetype is found in Celtic paganism, Norse mythology, and Wiccan traditions. We illustrate the journey of seeking refuge in the sisterhood after being burnt by the power structures in place, balancing the feelings of both rage and reassurance. Synths and electronic beats are prevalent throughout the track along with some Tabla drums mixed into the bridge. It’s a high-energy, spooky witch anthem that opens the second half of the album.”
‘Castle’:
“The song of The Martyrs; inspired by a painting in Nottingham Castle depicting the night voting reform was shot down by the duke in 1831. The mob set the whole castle on fire in protest. People came out with umbrellas to stand in the rain and watch it burn. A chaotic group, pushed too far, willing to do anything to make a change. Elements of betrayal tie this all together, a chant to rally and rage against the imbalances. Sonically the synths resemble sweaty dubstep of 2009 and hints of Enter Shikari. Flavours that earned their place solid references for this record.”
‘Necromancer’:
“A very cinematic, open and brooding track. With The Hag beginning to emerge as a metaphor for the passage of time and the inevitability of the end, we begin desperately bargaining with the Necromancers to give us one more shot at life, believing we could maybe do it better if we had our time again. A song that vehemently denies the progression of time and the dread of growing older.”
‘Coma’:
“A song when you’re tired of trying, and a moment of reflection for the characters. Truly a track for the most burnt out and exhausted of us, if you’ve ever thought a hospital visit feels like the only way to rest, this one’s for you. The drum intro is inspired by Architects, there is a dual vocal chorus with Maisie and Lewis presenting a manic call and response and a dreamy bridge that builds into a symphonic explosion of brutality.”
‘Apparitions (Ft. Tobi Duncan)’:
“A return to big guitar riffs, it’s time to take accountability for the mess we’re in or accept our fate. On the other side of this song is an element of the hurt, and sometimes anger, you feel once you realise you’ve outgrown areas of your life and belief systems you held onto for so long. Relish in letting go of what no longer serves you, they’ll have to cross realms if they want to reach you. Featuring Tobi from Trash Boat, we knew this breakdown was the heaviest point of the album, the fight scene, the crescendo; and required an extra element to complete this track.”
‘Bellyaches’:
“Partially an ‘end credits’ song for the album, as we bask in euphoric, self-destructive thoughts. Inspired by the emo revival of Modern Baseball etc. and the dopamine hit of shouting lyrics in unison, whilst barely conscious, inside sweaty basements. An ode to getting into a mess with your mates but believing it’ll be ok in the end. Lastly, another nod to rejecting the passage of time, opting to die in the most joyful moment of your life rather than coming down off the high. The rain returns for its third act, looping us back around to the start… unless you keep listening to a physical version, then the rain takes you to the post-credits…”
The mentioned characters are:
‘The Hag’:
“A metaphor for the passage of time and the inevitability of the end, an all-powerful being that used to keep all realms in balance. Stataris (pron. Stat-Airies) – the source of evil that plagues this realm. A demigod of the highest form, set out to control all realms and the ultimate cause of the unbalance. We see him possess The Hag in the ‘Castle’ video before she sacrifices herself.”
‘Skinwalkers’:
“Minions of Stataris. Shapeshifters that stalk in the woods. Characters on deception and mance, much like the unseen ‘Rat King’ who is mentioned on ‘MaidenMotherCrone’.”
‘The Martyrs’:
“The underground resistance trying to restore order. They recruit the band members who have been in and out of the realms via the board game after escaping the fate of their own world.”
The album cover was taken by Riccardo Cenci and inspired by The Somnia Tarot series by Nicolas Bruno, the image depicts ‘The Hag’ a central character of the album.
By holding both the fragile ornament of the human head and the protective crystal pendant, the image illustrates a sense of balance, a key theme of the album.
Air Drawn Dagger have released also the following singles:
‘Castle’:
“The board game, a vessel between realms. Featuring The Celtic Ogham alphabet on one side, translating to: ‘Women’s peace/harmonic balance, righteous endurance, forced change, and focusing chaos’. The Martys symbol (based a the Moon Glyph for balance) on the other. The outside of the board contains the Eabhadh symbol, which is connected to trees found in groves where Druids once gathered. When this symbol appears, it’s often a clue that there is some sort of conflict resolution, justice, or counsel about to occur. In some traditions, this symbol is associated with attracting the harmonies of life through spiritual growth.”
‘Sanctifound’:
“The protective crystal and dagger pendant for the song about finding ‘your people’ in a place where it doesn’t feel like you belong.”
‘Teeth’:
“The glass skull is submerged in the river. A fitting image for a song by some of the album’s villains. A sense of possession, human fragility, lack of control and death.”
‘Bellyaches’:
“Mentions of the lake are constant throughout the album. It’s the centre of the unrest in this realm. With the music video for this song breaking through the narrative, the gloved hand in the reflection of the water embodies the multiple realms existing simultaneously.”
‘Apparitions’:
“As this song encapsulates the harshness of killing what no longer serves you, we see the knife The Hag uses to sacrifice herself in the Castle music video.”
‘Cadavers’:
“The rain bookends this song and is referenced in the chorus, the raindrops/ominous activating in the lake is the only fitting image.”