Ward XVI Talk New Album, Single And More

Jun 2, 2025 | Interviews

Words by Glenn Sargeant

Feature Image Photo Credit: Christopher A. Maher

Flamboyant shock rockers, WARD XVI, are based in the North West of England and will release their new album ‘Id3ntity’ on Friday 11th July 2025 via Earache. They spoke to us about the new record, single and more:

Who is in Ward XVI and what do they play?

WARD XVI (16) are a Theatrical Horror band with a planned trilogy of concept albums telling the story of a female serial killer now incarcerated amongst the warped inhabitants of an asylum for the criminally insane.

Career highlights- Bloodstock Sophie Stage, supporting Cradle of Filth.

They consist of

Psychoberrie- vocals

Doktor Von Stottenstein-guitars

Wolfy Huntsman-bass

Bam Bam Bedlam-drums

Rico- theatrics

Mother-theatrics

When and how did you all meet?

We have met along the way during a 10 year period. This current line up has been together since 2021.

You will release your new album ‘Id3ntity’ on 11th July 2025 via Earache. How did you want to approach the making of the album?

We knew that due to the concept and story, that this album had to be aggressive and more direct than the previous album. We’d experienced much when we toured the second album which was introspective, moody and songs took time to develop. It was great in our own gigs but at times difficult to build momentum in festivals .. it was definitely an intention to be heavier and moshier.. and coincidentally the context needed that too. I just drew on the great bands we’d gigged with, ao Psychoberrie and I set about demoing riffs and concepts and building the songs.

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

The album was recorded between 2023-24 at the famous Studio Voltalab Sound Studios which was previously known as the Cargo Studios were Joy Division, Tony Wilson, OMD recorded and was also where the film 24 hour party people film was set.

Our producer Mark Winterburn was the man that produced and mixed ‘The Art of Manipulation’ and Metamorphosis, we were so blown away by his quality, vision and contribution to how the album turned out that we had no second thoughts about letting him look after this album too.

He’s definitely one of us (whether he likes it or not), understands us and pushes us to levels we didn’t think we’d get to… he also wears his belt backwards and that level of antidisestablishmentarianism is a must for us.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the album recording sessions?

Psychoberrie- Towards the end of the recording it gets quite fun as all the stressful elements are out of the way and we can start to be quite experimental. We wanted the sound of inmates chanting with chains being banged against bars for the album opener. We originally tried recording this with chains but it didn’t sound quite right so we went in search of all the metallic objects in the studio and the best sound we came up with was by smacking a set of stepladders with a big metal pole. From that point we were smashing glasses on the studio floor and then when we needed the sound of drunken people clapping for ‘Macabaret’ our drummer just decided to get his bum out and Mother, our actress from the Metamorphosis era, just started slapping his bum and that’s actually in there amongst all of our claps on the album. So I apologise as that song is probably now ruined for everyone haha.

Dok Von Stottenstein- I’ve got a pretty serious lung condition, and during the recording sessions I got pretty bad pneumonia, horrendous fever, couldn’t walk and was needing oxygen.. we could afford the money or time to reschedule the sessions so I just powered on. I literally can’t remember recording the solos.

Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?

Nothing special to be honest, we quadruple track a lot of guitars on different amps and guitars to get a massive sound, I use Hagstrom guitars and Blackstar amps for much, but I utilised so much more.

We like to experiment so the most specialist instrument we used was hitting a ladder with a chain or throwing a wine glass on the floor..

Which of your new album tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

It’s a concept album so none of it is real; however despite that I really have to put myself in the character’s shoes and channel that emotion into the songs. So Psychoberrie is happiest in Macabaret, angriest in Blood is the new Black and most reflective in Amoeba of Madness.

Was it a difficult album to write?

At times yes. We’ve full time jobs and young kids, so finding the time and space to write/ demo and develop was a challenge. Musically and conceptually it was good to push boundaries.

Who designed the album artwork?

Me. (Singer) I really wanted to continue on from the previous 3 albums by doing an old school hand drawn piece of art, but life’s so stressful at the moment that it was hard to find the time to really focus on it like I’d been able to in the past. So I decided to try magic mushrooms for the time and that really allowed me to get into the character and draw with so much focus for 2 weeks following that. I wasn’t just hitting a deadline, I was in there every night really enjoying the process and being experimental without fear.

Your new single ‘We Are Legion’ is out now, What was the story/inspiration behind the track?

The last songs on each of our albums form their own concept, documenting Psychoberrie’s time in the Asylum. We originally had other ideas for this track that were of a similar vein to the previous 2 album closers but I was never satisfied, I knew that it needed a shake up but I wasn’t sure how. Not until myself and Rico went to watch Lord of the Lost, I felt inspired after watching their show, it was hard-hitting and I wanted that energy. I came out of that gig and it just immediately became clear to me that this song needed to be an ode to our fans, our inmates, a way to incorporate them into our stage show, into this world we had created.

I came back that night and immediately got to work on the keyboard riff and the next day I presented it to The Doktor and set him the challenge of working a guitar riff into it and it became one of my favourite pieces on the album. Of all the songs it probably came together the quickest. It’s the shortest on the album but it said everything it needed to say. It serves as a prelude to our first single as this is set further in the past, in the Asylum where they’re planning the events that take place in ‘Blood is the new Black’.

Our inmates have given us so much support, they even funded this album, so as well as being a conceptually important song in the trilogy, it’s also a thank you. Our inmates have grown this band far beyond the 6 people you see on stage and it continues to grow. That was all determined by them, they turned up wearing the stripes, created their own identities and personalities in this fictional universe, the idea for the inmate numbers even came from them, so this isn’t just our band anymore. “We are Legion, we are one, we are the collective!”

The single will be accompanied by an official music video. What was the thought process behind the video and who directed it?

We had a few concepts that we story boarded (we knew certain beats and elements to play/ film) but there was a lot we blagged too.

We were very fortunate that our rehearsal space is next door to Escape reality Preston which has loads of ace escape rooms which really fit our need. They were so hospitable to let us use their rooms for the majority of the shoot and allowed not only us but the 100 fans we’d invited to make a massive mess.

Dark fable media who have filmed Slipknot, Skindred, Lamb of God, didn’t know what hit them, but they were incredible and the vid is better than we could ever have wished.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals etc?

Doktor Von Stottenstein uses Hagstrom / EVH guitars and Morley pedals and Blackstar Amps.

We are endorsed by Blackstar, Newtone strings, Intune gp guitar pics and The London Drumstick co.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

We are from all over the UK but are based predominantly in Preston Lancashire.

Five words… wet, precipitous, rainy, moist and damp

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2025 to support the release?

We are launching the album in our biggest most ambitious show yet at Manchester Academy 2 on Friday 25th July and the we are taking the album across the UK this October:

Saturday 18th – Hidden, Dundee;

Sunday 19th – Ivory Blacks, Glasgow;

Monday – 20th The Cluny, Newcastle;

Tuesday 21st – Yardbird, Grimsby;

Wednesday 22nd- Nightrain, Bradford;

Thursday 23rd – O’Rileys, Hull;

Friday 24th – Firebug, Leicester;

Saturday 25th – Brickmakers, Norwich;

Sunday 26th – Cart & Horses, London;

Monday 27th – Levels, Swindon;

Tuesday 28th – The Cobblestones, Bridgwater;

Wednesday 29th – The Bunkhouse, Swansea;

Thursday 30th – The Station, Cannock;

Friday 31st – Blitz, Preston.

What makes Ward XVI happy and what makes you unhappy?

Happy- we love spending time with our inmates and fans either at gigs or chatting on line. We’re deeply privileged to be followed by some vey passionate people.

Unhappy- the music industry can be brutal at times. I guess it would be those who use and abuse the people within it without a thought to the implications to the bands and fans that are integral to it.