| Ludwig Witt | |
|---|---|
 Witt performing with Grand Magus in 2019. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth Name | Ludwig Witt |
| Alias | Ludde |
| Born | 12 August 1972 |
| Occupation | Musician, Leather Crafter |
| Genres | Heavy Metal, Stoner Metal, Stoner Rock, Black Metal |
| Instrument(s) | Drums, Percussion |
| Years active | 1993 - Present |
| Labels | Rise Above Records, Inside Out Music, Music For Nations, Spinefarm, Nuclear Blast |
| Associated acts | Spiritual Beggars, Grand Magus, Firebird, The Mushroom River Band, Shining, Sidewalk, Halmstad Blues Machine |
| Website | |
Ludwig Witt, often simply known as Ludde, is a drummer and leather craftsman based out of Sweden. Active since the early 1990s, he is best known as a founding drummer of the stoner rock band Spiritual Beggars, having joined the band initially alongside Michael Amott and Christian Sjöstrand in 1993. Also of note is his tenure with the Swedish heavy metal band Grand Magus, whom he joined in 2012 and has since served as the band's longest tenured drummer and appearing on the most albums of any drummer in the band.
Witt also notably played drums in Firebird alongside Bill Steer of Carcass notoriety along with the black metal band Shining. Though largely known for playing with heavy metal bands, Ludwit Witt expresses interest in performing with music of wide ranges from metal to blues[1] to pop[2] to classic rock.[3]
In a career spanning roughly thirty years, Witt has performed on nine albums with Spiritual Beggars, five with Firebird, four with Grand Magus and two with Shining among numerous other releases.
Biography[]
Spiritual Beggars[]
- For more details, feel free to view the Riffipedia page on Spiritual Beggars.
Spiritual Beggars was formed in 1992 by Michael Amott after his departure from Carcass. Witt would join sometime in 1993 in time to record the band's debut album. Spiritual Beggars debuted with the self-titled Spiritual Beggars in 1994 and have subsequently released albums as Michael's schedule, which also includes being a full-time member of melodic death metal band Arch Enemy, permits. The band's second album Another Way to Shine followed in 1996 and was nominated for a Swedish Grammy. The album featured artwork by the legendary artist Hans Arnold, depicting the members of the band in a fairytale world.
The third album, Mantra III, saw the band adding Per Wiberg on keyboards. Spiritual Beggars toured Europe with Fu Manchu and made several festival appearances in support of the album. Their fourth album, Ad Astra, was released in 2000 and enjoyed strong sales across Europe and in Japan. The band toured heavily on their Chasing The Stars tour that followed, supporting bands such as Iron Maiden, Monster Magnet, and Queens of the Stone Age, as well as playing festivals and headlining shows in Europe and Japan.
2002 saw the release of the band's fifth studio recording, On Fire. This album featured a new line-up following the departure of original singer Christian "Spice" Sjöstrand. The replacements were Janne "JB" Christoffersson of Grand Magus, who had been recommended to Amott by a mutual friend, while Roger Nilsson joined to handle the bass.
On Fire album was musically and vocally more melodic and saw the band delving deeper into 70s hard rock for inspiration. A 2003 European tour featured Spiritual Beggars alongside Clutch, Spiritu and Dozer was completed in support of the album, which was followed by a tour of Japan with Clutch as the opening act.
Spiritual Beggars' sixth album, Demons, was released in Japan in March 2005 and in Europe on 20 June 2005. Demons was released in two versions – a single CD version and a two-CD version, which includes live material recorded in Japan during 2003. The touring on this record was limited to a three-date Japanese tour with Dio and a headline performance in London, UK. Carcass would also reform in 2007 with Amott on guitar, consuming a deal of free time with the group.
In early March 2010, it was announced that Spiritual Beggars had entered the studio to record their first studio album in five years. The album featured new singer Apollo Papathanasio of Firewind and Evil Masquerade. Return To Zero was released in Europe on August 30, 2010, in Japan on August 25, 2010 and in North America on October 12, 2010. Following the release, the band played shows in Greece, Japan, Belgium, France and Finland. Eventually, Amott would leave the reunited Carcass once they chose to commit to being a band once again. Thus he chose to concentrate on Arch Enemy while maintaining activity with Spiritual Beggars.
Their performance at Loud Park Festival in Japan on October 17, 2010 was recorded and released as the Return to Live: Loud Park 2010. Apollo's second album with Spiritual Beggars, Earth Blues, was released on April 15, 2013. The album has been noted for drawing influence from Deep Purple. Apollo's third album with the band Sunrise To Sundown saw a release on 18 March 2016 via Century Media with three singles to support the record.
Firebird[]
Firebird came together in 1999, when Steer teamed up with Cathedral bassist Leo Smee and Spiritual Beggars drummer Ludwig Witt. This line-up recorded both Firebird (2000) and Deluxe (2001).
Both Leo and Ludwig departed due to commitments with their primary bands before a 2001 European tour, leading to a series of lineup changes. Steer would team up with Blind Dog bassist Tobias Nilsson and Quill drummer George Atlagic. In 2002 Steer announced yet another line-up consisting of drummer Atlagic and Quill/Spiritual Beggars bassist Roger Nilsson. This line-up recorded 2003's No. 3. Since then many line-up changes occurred but Witt would rejoin for 2006's Hot Wings, remaining with the band for the remainder of their tenure. The bassists however would consistently change, the last of whom being Greyum May, joining not long after 2009's Grand Union with this lineup performing on 2011's Double Diamond. Double Diamond would turn out to be the band's final studio outing.
Eventually, the band on 3 April 2012, announced that they'll "call it a day" due to reasons, which "are too numerous to go into here". The band wrote on its official Facebook page: “As some of you are probably already aware, at the end of 2011 Firebird decided to call it a day. The reasons are too numerous to go into here. But we would like to thank everyone, who helped the band over the years, and the friends we made up and down the country, as well as the many lovely people we met overseas.”
Grand Magus[]
- For more details, feel free to view the Riffipedia page on Grand Magus.
In 2012, Grand Magus had begun work on their sixth studio album and during the sessions Seb had chosen to depart from the group to concentrate on family and playing drums as a leisure. Leaving on friendly terms the group would enlist Witt to the fold, officially revealed as such on 4 April 2012.[4] Recording new drum tracks and newly signed to Nuclear Blast Records, The Hunt was released on 25 May 2012 to positive reviews. The band followed with a host of festival appearances and the band's first ever appearance in North America at Noctis V Metalfest in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on 27 September. Grand Magus followed with a full European tour to further support The Hunt under the title Hunting Across Europe. The band would keep focus on the traditional heavy metal sound as they began composing songs for their next album.
On 17 November 2013 Grand Magus would announce their seventh studio album Triumph and Power, the band's third studio album with producer Nico Elgstrand at that time and seeing release on 31 January 2014 via Nuclear Blast (4 February for USA release) to positive reviews.[5] Grand Magus would headline the Rock Revelation tour along with two more tours that year in one of their busiest and most conquering years as a live act. A quick follow-up came in the form of Sword Songs on 13 May 2016, followed by one of their most extensive tours sharing the stage with Viking Metal band Amon Amarth.
Grand Magus would take a year off touring throughout 2018 to begin work on a new record. On 22 February 2019 the band would announce their ninth album Wolf God, set for a 19 April release via Nuclear Blast Records.[6] The band would also announce a string of festival appearances in support of the album throughout the summer and fall. On 15 April 2019 it would be announced that Grand Magus would support Amon Amarth on their Fall tour in what would be their first ever shows in the United States.
Following a tour of Europe in 2023 alongside Wolf, Grand Magus has begun work on a tenth album.
Other Endeavors[]
- Ludwig Witt has served as a session musician for several Swedish bands over the years. In 1996 he performed the studio drums on Faith Taboo's only studio album Psychopath, which featured future Spiritual Beggars vocalist Apollo Papathanasio. He also did session work for The Mushroom River Band, Dutch singer-songwriter Sidewalk and Christopher Amott of Arch Enemy notoriety.
- Witt also notably performed with the Swedish black metal band Shining, appearing on two records and two EPs. His tenures with the band lasted between 2005 and 2007, followed by a second tenure from 2011 - 2012.
- In 2022, Witt would join with a new project known as Halmstad Blues Project.[7][8] He also notably plays drums for an Elvis Presley tribute band known as Zeiss.[9]
Bands[]
- Spiritual Beggars - Drums (1993 - Present)
- Firebird - Drums (1999 - 2001, 2006 - 2011)
- Shining - Drums (2005 - 2007, 2011 - 2012)
- Sandalinas - Live Drums (2005)
- Christopher Amott - Drums (2009 - 2010)
- Grand Magus - Drums, Backing Vocals (2012 - Present)
- Halmstad Blues Project - Drums (2022 - Present)
- Zeiss - Drums (2022 - Present)
- Seagrave - Drums (Unknown Time Period)
Discography[]
With Spiritual Beggars (Selected)[]
- Spiritual Beggars (1994, Wrong Again Records)
- Another Way to Shine (1996, Music For Nations; Sony BMG)
- Mantra III (1998, Music For Nations; Sony BMG)
- Violet Karma (10" EP) (1998, Froghouse)
- Ad Astra (2000, Music For Nations)
- It's Over / Twilight Train (Split 7" with Grand Magus) (2001, Southern Lord Records)
- On Fire (2002, Music For Nations)
- Demons (2005, Inside Out Music)
- Return to Zero (2010, Inside Out Music)
- Earth Blues (2013, Inside Out Music)
- Sunrise to Sundown (2016, Inside Out Music)
With Grand Magus[]
- The Hunt (2012, Nuclear Blast Records)
- Triumph and Power (2014, Nuclear Blast Records)
- Sword Songs (2016, Nuclear Blast Records)
- Wolf God (2019, Nuclear Blast Records)
With Firebird[]
- Firebird (2000 Rise Above Records)
- Deluxe (2001 Music for Nations)
- Hot Wings (2006 Rise Above Records)
- Grand Union (2009 Rise Above Records)
- Double Diamond (2011 Rise Above Records)
With Shining[]
- V: Halmstad (Niklas angående Niklas) (Studio Album) (2007, Osmose Productions)
- Lots of Girls Gonna Get Hurt (EP) (2012, Spinefarm)
- Redefining Darkness (Studio Album) (2012, Spinefarm)
- Five Valid Reasons for Self-Inflicting Harm (EP. drums on two songs) (2014, Metallian Editions)
Other Releases[]
- Faith Taboo – Psychopath (Studio Album; drums on all tracks except 9) (1996, Sphinx Ministry)[10]
- The Mushroom River Band - Rocketcrash (EP; additional percussion) (1999, Tea Pot)
- Sidewalk – Have Heart, Will Travel (Studio Album) (2009, Sidewalk Music)
- Opeth – In Live Concert At The Royal Albert Hall (Live Album; Drum Technician) (2010, Roadrunner)
- Christopher Amott – Follow Your Heart (Studio Album) (2010, Trooper Entertainment)
- Sidewalk - Ember (CD Single) (2012, Sidewalk Music)
- Avdagata – N.I.B (Digital Single) (2022, Self-Released)
External Links[]
References[]
| V·T·E Grand Magus | |
|---|---|
| Current Members | Janne Christoffersson • Mats Heden • Ludwig Witt |
| Past Members | Fredrik Liefvendahl • Sebastian Sippola |
| Studio Albums | Grand Magus • Monument • Wolf's Return • Iron Will • Hammer of The North • The Hunt • Triumph and Power • Sword Songs • Wolf God |
| Misc. Releases | Demo Two Thousand • It's Over / Twilight Train |
| V·T·E Spiritual Beggars | |
|---|---|
| Current Members | Michael Amott • Ludwig Witt • Sharlee D'Angelo • Per Wiberg • Apollo Papathanasio |
| Past Members | Christian Sjöstrand • Roger Nilsson • Janne Christoffersson |
| Studio Albums | Spiritual Beggars • Another Way to Shine • Mantra III • Ad Astra • On Fire • Demons • Return To Zero • Earth Blues • Sunrise to Sundown |
| Splits | It's Over / Twilight Train • Swenskt Anfall |
| Singles | Violet Karma • Thumbsucker / Stoned Woman |
| Live Albums | Live Fire • Return to Live: Loud Park 2010 |
| Associated Bands and Artists | Grand Magus • Firebird • The Mushroom River Band • Candlemass |