INNOVATIVE SHOCK ROCKERS RETURN WITH A NEW ALBUM, LIVE SHOWS & NEW VIDEO!
WARD XVI are back with an explosive new album, Id3ntity, which is out on Friday 11th July, via Earache Digital Distribution. The unstoppable sextet will also reveal their new single and video, Blood Is The New Black, which is out on Friday 4th April.
If youâre new to WARD XVI, then youâve been missing out. The theatrical hard-hitters hail from the North West of England, and have gained a formidable reputation for their compelling performances that infuse engrossing visuals with dark storytelling. The gruesome mob depict the story of a female serial killer, Psychoberrie, and retrace her steps by using a unique blend of drama, music, and puppetry.
Born with a powerful drive to smash creative boundaries, WARD XVI, tip their hats to past masters such as Iron Maiden and Alice Cooper, and to contemporary heavyweights, Ghost and Skindred.
WARD XVI have established themselves as a standout act in the rock and metal scene and are equally adept at bringing their stage show to the club circuit and prominent venues such as the London Roundhouse and larger festival stages akin to Bloodstock.
Following on the success of their previous album, Metamorphosis, which earned widespread plaudit and racked up numerous awards, WARD XVI are now ready to release their eagerly awaited new album, ID3NTITY, which is the final part of a trilogy of releases:
âID3NTITY is the stunning conclusion of Psychoberrieâs story based on a sordid tale thatâs ten blood-soaked years in the telling.
Inspired by every experience, the album is BIGGER⊠BADDERâŠMADDER than ever before. If you want bloodâŠyouâll get it.â
With a summer filled with live shows, festivals, and further releases. WARD XVI are ready to share their next gripping instalmentâŠâŠ
“Look no further than the madcap mayhem that is WARD XVI! bringing theatrics to rock or is it taking rocking to the theatre? either way this troupe are unique in their stunning delivery” – metal planet music
Influenced by: Alice Cooper, Skindred, Iron Maiden, Rob Zombie, Diablo Swing Orchestra, Alter Bridge, In this Moment and Avatar.
VIDEOS
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
- Support for Skindred at Liverpool Olympia 2024
- Main Support for Cradle of Filth at The Roundhouse on Halloween night 2021
- Bloodstock Festival Sophie Lancaster Stage in 2021 and New Blood in 2017
- Headline Festival slot on the Firestarter stage at Maid of Stone 2024
- Main support for Diablo Swing Orchestra 2023
- Main Support for Lawnmower Deth in 2022 and 2023
- Blood is the New black Premiered by Kerrang! radio
- Blood is the new black nominated by Metal Hammer magazine as one of the 12 new songs you must listen to
- Our Certified inmates Crowdfunder being recognised in the top 100 of Crowdfunding campaigns of 2023
- Main Stage appearances at HRH, Hammerfest, Winter Rocks, NWOCR & Love Rocks
- Headline festival slots at Maid of Stone festival, SOS Festival, Pentre Fest, Sav Fest & Whitby Goth Weekend
- Headline 15 date UK tour in 2022
- Tour Support for Tragedy in 2024
- Tour support for Doyle (Misfits) in 2018
- Tour support for Red Rum in 2018
- “Frightened kids” and angered parents at Festival on the Hills 2024
THE STORY SO FAR……….
2017-2019
In 2017 the first chapter of a planned trilogy of concept albums, âThe Art of Manipulationâ, introduced you to the sordid story of Psychoberrie- the UKâs most notorious serial killer now incarcerated among the warped inhabitants of Ward XVI. The album was greeted with critical acclaim with catchy female vocals, hard-hitting metal riffs, off-beat ska rhythms, melancholic piano, jaunty accordions, and a hint of electro. Each member drew from their own eclectic influences that included Alice Cooper, Skindred, Iron Maiden, Rob Zombie, Diablo Swing Orchestra, Alter Bridge and Avatar.
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2017-19 saw Ward XVI go from strength to strength, gripping UK audiences with their headline âScare in the Communityâ tour, a 14-date tour of the UK with Doyle (of the Misfits) and a 10-date UK tour with Red Rum, while also wowing the crowds at Bloodstock (after winning Metal to the Masses), Hammerfest, HRH Metal Meltdown, Amplified, Breaking Bands, SOS and Ragnarok Festivals.
2020-2022
In September 2020, The second chapter of Psychoberrieâs confessional âMetamorphosisâ, was unleashed. The album received critical acclaim from fans and media alike and claimed a spot in many top 10 album polls of 2020.
This was followed up In December 2020 with the EP âUnplugged and Sedatedâ, as Ward XVI confronted the effects of a Covid-19 ravaged year and responded to the overwhelming demand of their inmates following live acoustic versions of Metamorphosis songs posted online.
In August 2021, The inmates escaped their confines to take Bloodstock Open Air by storm with a show packed full of explosives, monsters and theatrics that received rave reviews from all that witnessed it from within a packed Sophie Lancaster tent, this was followed by an appearance at the legendary London Roundhouse supporting Cradle of Filth which was met with an incredible response.
In December the Inmates finally played their rescheduled Metamorphosis album launch show to a full to the brim Manchester Academy 3.
2022 saw the intensity turned up with a 15 date UK Tour, mixed with main stage appearances at HRH XIV, Hammerfest, Winter Rocks, NWOCR live fest and a support gig with legends Lawnmower Deth.
2023Â
In 2023, The inmates returned to the confines of the Asylum to start work on the third chapter of Psychoberrie trilogy.
With just a handful of live performances to prevent them going stir crazy and satisfy their insatiable thirst for blood, the inmates proved quality was more important than quantity with headline slots at SOS Festival, PentreFest, SavFest and the World famous Whitby Goth Weekend, in addition to main stage appearances at Love Rocks, HRH XVI, Alt Model of the year awards, Rabidfest, a supporting slot with one of their biggest influences Diablo Swing Orchestra and a return to the stage for the second year running with Lawnmower Deth.Â
In October 2024, fuelled by the support of the inmates Crowdfunder that raised over ÂŁ16,000 in 30 days..ÂŁ9k of which was pledges within the first 24 hours, The inmates entered Voltalab Sound Studios in Rochdale- a studio known around the world for the albums that Joy Division and OMD recorded there as well as being featured in the Hollywood film ’24 hour Party people’. Joined again by their another staple of the Psychoberrie Trilogy-Sound Engineer Mark Winterburn (Plan B, The Script, Don Broco, Lily Allen) to start recording 10 of the hardest hitting Ward XVI tracks to date.
2024
In what began as a quiet, studio-focused winter 2024 exploded into life in the Spring as the Inmates- now having completed the recorded the new album, took to the road in a surprise UK wide tour with Tragedy: All Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees and Beyond. Hitting 12 cities in 12 consecutive days, Ward XVI and Tragedy decimated city after city leaving them longing for more.
This tour was followed in the summer with headline Festival appearances at Slaughterhouse Festival, Outlaw Rock’n’roll Weekend, and Maid of Stone Festival in addition to main stage appearances at Wildfire festival and Festival on the Hills.
In October, Ward XVI were announced as support for Skindred on the Liverpool leg of their UK tour in which the inmates took their twisted circus to the Liverpool Olympia where they went down a storm in the most apt of venues- a Victorian circus.
“From the start, Ward XVI make it clear that tonightâs performance is a spectacle. Itâs more than just music; itâs theatrical. Few bands within the metal genre bring this level of showmanship, with the notable exception of Ice Nine Kills, who deliver high-octane, horror-filled performances. Whether inspired by this or not, Ward XVIâs songs tell a story they act out on stage, at one point disembowelling an actress before drinking from goblets of blood in true B-movie horror fashion.” –Â Live Review: Skindred At Liverpool Olympia | Liverpool Noise
It’s 2025 and WARD XVI are now ready to release their eagerly awaited new album, Id3ntity, which is the final part of a trilogy of releases: âID3NTITY is the stunning conclusion of Psychoberrieâs story based on a sordid tale thatâs ten blood-soaked years in the telling.
Inspired by every experience, the album is BIGGER⊠BADDERâŠMADDER than ever before.
If you want bloodâŠyouâll get it.â
With a summer filled with live shows, festivals, and further releases. WARD XVI are ready to share their next gripping instalmentâŠâŠ
Discography
ID3NTITY (2025)
‘ID3NTITY’ is the stunning conclusion of Psychoberrieâs story
A sordid tale 10 blood-soaked years in the telling.
ID3NTITY sees WARD XVI push their musical and theatrical boundaries further and harder than ever before. Inspired by every experience gained over the last 10 years to produce an album BIGGER…BADDER…MADDER than ever before.
Metamorphosis (2020)
âMetamorphosisâ challenges everything you think you know about the notorious fiend, Psychoberrie. Travel back to the very beginning and ask yourself: is evil born, or made?
A motherâs love, formed in a haze of dolls and daisies, is blackened by merciless addiction. A little girl seeks protection from the broken and abandoned, anything to quell the monster that comes at night. Corrupted by unspeakable cruelty, pious innocence undergoes a malevolent transformation. Experience the elation of a first kill and the debauchery that ensues, culminating in a desperate run from the law.
âMetamorphosisâ challenges everything you think you know about the notorious fiend, Psychoberrie. Travel back to the very beginning and ask yourself: is evil born, or made?
A motherâs love, formed in a haze of dolls and daisies, is blackened by merciless addiction. A little girl seeks protection from the broken and abandoned, anything to quell the monster that comes at night. Corrupted by unspeakable cruelty, pious innocence undergoes a malevolent transformation. Experience the elation of a first kill and the debauchery that ensues, culminating in a desperate run from the law.
The Art of Manipulation (2017)
The Art of Manipulation is a 12-Track concept album telling the introspective story of a female psychopath locked away in a high security asylum. Throughout the album she delves into her past life and tells the story of how she manipulated a man into killing for her using her feminine charm; however when the guilt became too much for him to bear this charm transformed into something much more sinister.
The Art of Manipulation is a 12-Track concept album telling the introspective story of a female psychopath locked away in a high security asylum. Throughout the album she delves into her past life and tells the story of how she manipulated a man into killing for her using her feminine charm; however when the guilt became too much for him to bear this charm transformed into something much more sinister.
Live reviews
âThe Devilâs Arse has been the abode of prehistoric cave-dwelling troglodytes. Itâs been visited by Queen Victoria, written about by Daniel Defoe and graffitied by Lord Byron, but itâs never witnessed anything quite like Ward XVI.
There are Babadooks and dancing dolls, blood, gore and disembowelments as vocalist Psychoberrie and deranged cheerleader Rico Rameres â sort of a cleaver-wielding metal version of the Happy Mondaysâ Bez â lead the visual assault. The music packs both muscle and melody. Itâs more involved, progressive and eclectic than you might expect from the stage show, but itâs still the Alice Cooper on a budget-meets-Grand Guignol theatre that stands out.â ~ Metal Hammer
“Bloodstock also prides itself on providing a springboard for new and lesser-known bands though and, as ever, there was plenty to discover. Ward XVI electrified the early crowd on the Wednesday with an ambitiously theatrical set”. ~ Kerrang!!
“Ward XVI were up next and there is only one word for their entire performance: exquisite. The choreography and production was to be admired, every single step was full of horrifying and chilling details right down to the ghoulish costumes, their preparations did not go unnoticed. The atmosphere was haunting and the music was belting.
The flames took their position for âBurn The Witchâ and at that moment I realised they had nailed the theatre act, definitely the best Iâve seen. Psychoberrie is a hero, her vocals were effortless and powerful, there were zero breaks when she hit the clear notes resulting in a silky smooth running. This crazy lady gave birth only a couple of weeks ago and there is no denying that all the hours of dedication to perfect the performance definitely paid off. The tent was bursting and their overall sound was huge, certainly well balanced between the electronics and guitars too, a fantastic job”. ~ Metal Planet Music
“In-house favourites Ward XVI followed with their ambitious Metamorphosis set. Iâm very much aware of the time and effort that went into this production and I was absolutely buzzing with the crowdâs reception. They absolutely nailed it including some impressive flames during âBurn the Witchâ, and a wealth of costumed characters. Ward XVI proved that theyâre ready for the bigtime with a huge crowd following and an actual show, not just some songs with bells on”. ~ Moshville Times
“Whilst metal is strewn with wildly theatrical acts, there is still something deliciously unique about Ward XVI. They universe build at such a quantum level that it is frankly breathtaking. Every angle has been considered and there is so much detail to feast on that you’re not quite sure where to put your eyes. The other thoroughly unique component is the music. It would be so easy to wed their highly impressive amateur dramatics to a meat and potato classic rock soundtrack. But that would be too easy and pedestrian for a band with such highly convoluted ideas. Instead, they have created a musical maelstrom that borrows from a billion different places. Yes, there is a bedrock of rock here, but they reach out far beyond the confines of our world dragging jazz, polka, and a thousand other influences into the gravitational pull. Everything has been exquisitely over-thought and that is utter beauty of Ward XVI. They are operating at an intellectual and opulent level that few other fledgling acts can muster. Their short but effective stay culminates with the now customary circus pit, the bastard child of a Jewish wedding and the front row of a hardcore gig. It is that submersion and maintaining of character that means that even the non-initi 0ated are by the end swept away by the spectacle they witnessed. And for those still worshipping at the altars of stripped-back troubadours, God you are missing out”. ~ Rock flesh