Italian black metal one man horde Hesperia release the new single “La Sdrega” on all digital platforms! Taken from the upcoming album “Picenum (True Marchigian Black Metal Renaissance)”, to be released on 28th August via Hammerheart Records.

Listen to “La Sdrega” on Youtube here: https://youtu.be/ORWAHS2l_dM
Listen and pre-order on Bandcamp here: https://hammerheart.bandcamp.com/track/la-sdrega

Pre-order here: https://hesperia.lnk.to/picenum

Track 6 from the album “Picenum (True Marchigian Black Metal Renaissance)”: “La Sdrega” is a figure in the folklore of the Marche region. She is the witch, seen as a nocturnal and malevolent being. On Fridays, the witch gathers at the Sabbath with others, she can transform herself into animals like cats and snakes, and sucks the blood of newborns or steals their milk by sucking from the mother’s breast. Like “Lu Lupu Mannà” (the Marchigian werewolf), a woman become a witch either by being born on Christmas night or due to a mistake in the ritual formula during baptism.
Old Marche farmers protected themselves by placing salt on their doors, using special herbs, and performing other apotropaic rituals. The credits music is the beginning of the interlude “Intermezzo – Notte a Elcito: le sdreghe lavandare/Verso li Monti Sibillini” (music by Hesperus)

The album is the natural continuation of “Fra li Monti Sibillini”, expanding its concept to the entire Marche region (the title Picenum indicates the ancient name for a large part of this region).

The album is set mostly in the late Middle Ages but also at the beginning of the Renaissance (here highlighted in its darker sides, experienced through the darkness of the region Marche and the places where Hesperus were born).

After a brief intro about the region’s ancient origins, the album is divided into 3 parts:
• Picenum – parte I: Storia e Leggende nell’Oscurità del Medioevo e del Rinascimento (History & Legends)
• Picenum – parte II: Il folclore e i racconti degli anziani (Folklore)
• Picenum – parte III: Ritorno fra li Monti Sibillini (Return to the Sibylline Mounts)

Credits:
Music & lyrics by Hesperus
Stem mastering by Pat Guiraud (WSL Studio)
Hesperus Photos by Figlia della Tempesta
Backing vocals (4:50-5:25) by Adram of SULPHURIA (these backing vocals were recorded at Stronghold Studio).
Traditional Marchigian folklore narration in Marchigian dialect (2:52-3:40) by Hesperus’ grandmother (R.I.P. 1927-2020)
All rights reserved.

Historical note: The Marchigian proverb featured in the video (“La notte de San Gioanno tutte le sdreghe s’arduna a commanno”) is taken from G. Crocioni (1951, “La gente marchigiana nelle sue tradizioni”).