"Witchcraft" is the second single from Australian

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

band

Pendulum A pendulum is a device made of a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate i ...

from their third studio album, ''

Immersion Immersion may refer to: The arts * "Immersion", a 2012 story by Aliette de Bodard * ''Immersion'', a French comic book series by Léo Quievreux * ''Immersion'' (album), the third album by Australian group Pendulum * ''Immersion'' (film), a 2021 ...

''. It was released as a

digital single In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

on 18 July 2010, with the

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

being released the following day. It debuted at number sixty-two on the UK Singles Chart following high numbers of downloads from the release of the album. The music video was shot on 2 June 2010 and finished on 25 June, as confirmed by Rob Swire's Twitter feed. The single includes a drumstep mix by Rob Swire, remixes by drum and bass DJs and producers

John B John Bryn Williams (born 1977), known as John B, is an English disc jockey and electronic music producer. He is widely recognised for his eccentric clothing, wild hair, and his production of several cutting edge drum and bass tracks. John B ...

and Netsky, and a remix by

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DJ and producer Chuckie. An exclusive video of "Witchcraft" was placed on the Pendulum members section "The Other Side". The single artwork shares a similarity with the artwork for Pendulum's debut album, ''

Hold Your Colour ''Hold Your Colour'' is the debut studio album by the Australian drum and bass band Pendulum, released on 25 July 2005 and later reissued in 2007 by Breakbeat Kaos. The album was mastered by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis in London. The album fea ...

''. The song is used in many sport montages one of which being the end of season review by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

for the 2010–11

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season. The song was also featured in Season 3 of the Netflix Series, Heartstopper.

Meaning

There was some constant controversy over the song’s name and meaning of lyrics, primarily due to Pendulum's cryptic style. However, Rob Swire later discussed the meaning of several Pendulum songs at a music festival in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. He said that the song speaks out against violence towards women, and compares it to witchcraft, a "highly devastating act that people try to avoid, but it still occurs although we rarely see it".

Chart performance

"Witchcraft" debuted on the UK Singles Chart on 30 May 2010 at number 62, following the release of the album, ''"

"'', which also reached number-one that week. The single however, fell out of the top 100 on its second week in the chart. On 11 July 2010, the single began to climb its way back up the UK Singles Chart reaching number 113. The single then climbed back into the top 100 at number 67 on 18 July. Upon physical release, the single climbed 38 places to a current peak of number 29, marking the band's third most successful single alongside "

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" and fifth top 40 single in the UK.

Other media

To help promote the single, Pendulum created a "Witchcraft Experiment"

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

application. When used, the viewer is taken into an impression of their profiles, with people on their friends list typing various lyrics out while the song played in the background. Pendulum have also released an animated "Witchcraft"

screensaver A screensaver (or screen saver) is a computer program that blanks the display screen or fills it with moving images or patterns when the computer has been idle for a designated time. The original purpose of screensavers was to prevent phosphor s ...

, along with an image to use on Facebook as well.Pendulum - NEWS - WITCHCRAFT PROFILE PICTURE & SCREENSAVER
.pendulum.com (20 July 2010). Retrieved 20 August 2010.

Bullet for My Valentine Bullet for My Valentine, often abbreviated as BFMV, are a Welsh heavy metal band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is currently composed of Matthew Tuck (vocals, rhythm guitar), Michael Paget (lead guitar), Jason Bowld (drums) and J ...

also played an acoustic version of this song on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

. It was also used in the soundtrack of the video game '' WRC FIA World Rally Championship''.

Formats and track listings

"Witchcraft" was written and produced by Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen. iTunes bundle # "Witchcraft" – 4:12 # "Witchcraft" – 5:44 # "Witchcraft" – 6:14 # "Witchcraft" – 6:53 # "Witchcraft" – 4:56 # "Witchcraft" – 3:52 12-inch vinyl single :A. "Witchcraft" – 5:44 :B. "Witchcraft" – 4:56 CD single #"Witchcraft" – 4:12 #"Witchcraft" – 5:44 #"Witchcraft" – 6:14 #"Witchcraft" – 6:53 #"Witchcraft" – 4:56

Personnel

Pendulum *

Rob Swire Robert Swire-Thompson (born 5 November 1982) is an Australian record producer, singer, songwriter, and DJ. He is the founder and lead vocalist of the drum and bass/electronic rock band Pendulum (drum and bass band), Pendulum, as well as Disc j ...

– writer, producer, vocals, synthesizers, mixing, remix *

Gareth McGrillen Pendulum is an Australian electronic rock band founded in 2002. Pendulum originally formed in the city of Perth, Western Australia, by Rob Swire, Gareth McGrillen and Paul "El Hornet" Harding. The band was later expanded to include members Ben M ...

–

production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...

, bass guitar, vocals *

Peredur ap Gwynedd Pendulum is an Australian electronic rock band founded in 2002. Pendulum originally formed in the city of Perth, Western Australia, by Rob Swire, Gareth McGrillen and Paul "El Hornet" Harding. The band was later expanded to include members Ben M ...

– guitar *

KJ Sawka Kevin Joseph "KJ" Sawka is an American musician, record producer, and DJ. He plays drums in the bands Pendulum and Destroid. Career KJ Sawka started his musical career at the age of twelve. At age eighteen, he developed an interest in elect ...

– acoustic drums Other contributors: * Netsky – remix *

– remix * Chuckie – remix

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2010 singles Songs written by Rob Swire Electronic rock songs Pendulum (drum and bass band) songs 2010 songs