I was lucky enough to be put onto this US act some years ago by one of our fellow scribes, Paul Maddison, when I heard one of the band’s early demos. Since then the band has gone from strength to strength since starting out as a duo under the auspices of M. Von Bewitcher and A. Magus. Now a three piece with A. Hunter on drums and all other duties performed by the aforementioned duo this band very quickly garnered a lot of attention, especially from the speed metal hordes that exist across the world.
Each of Bewitcher’s previous albums has been a trailblazing firestorm of potent riffing and hellish vocals vomiting forth from the fiery cauldron down below. However all of their releases, including the demos to some extent, contain variable quotients of straight heavy metal. You’ve only to listen to the bands last album, ‘Under The Witching Cross’ to realise that the band was developing that facet of their song writing more and more even though the album still contained the skin stripping speed metal assaults we’ve become accustomed to. On first listening to ‘Cursed Be Thy Kingdom’ I was struck immediately by how much more of that heavy metal and even rock has been deployed as fans of the bands outright speed metal onslaught are likely to be disappointed by this album and I must admit I was left with an indifferent feeling on first listen because I too was expecting that sizzling breakneck assault.
With an acoustic intro piece, ‘Ashe’, sounding like it came from the soundtrack to a Western, opens the album meandering gently along with some fine guitar work and it is here you get that the sense that things are different though not radically different I might add. ‘Death Returns…’ thrusts in with a typical Bewitcher riff, speedy, melodic and tempered by their unerring ability to make it sound caustic yet inherently smooth. Saturated in catchiness as always, the song doesn’t unleash any brazen speed as such but sticks to mid-tempo velocities as the songs main riff is extremely addictive. Any song with the title ‘Satanick Magick Attack’ would be expected to be a scorching affair, right, well to some extent it is but what the trio has opted to do is restrain the speed somewhat but retain the acidic vocal style, as the tune is far more akin to 80s heavy metal. The song actually had me scribbling down Tygers Of Pan Tang from their first couple of albums as the riff is very similar to what NWOBHM acts were churning out in the late 70s and early 80s.
I did like ‘Electric Phantoms’ with its emphasised drum fill sequence opening as this track hits familiar territory for all their fans but when you hear ‘Mystifier’ you realise the band has stepped into new avenues to some degree. The song is far more melodic possessing that rock vibe I’ve hinted at and if this song wasn’t sang with their harsh vocals and done via a cleaner variety instead it would be an extremely melodic metal song. The title track scurries the album down the path to hell’s domain with their trademark corrosive riffing and speed injection sitting comfortably with existing fans for certain.
Every song on this album is different, making it their most ambitious and varied to date as they slow things hugely for ‘Valley Of The Ravens’ and that heavy metal/rock posturing. The track has ingrained atmosphere we’re not accustomed to from these guys, but the result is formidable. Possessing a cool melodic vibe the song has a dark heavy metal style as it unveils a super cool catchy piece that harks back to the 70s courtesy of the excellent guitar work.
‘The Widow’s Blade’ is another more experimental track, with an intro piece that is quickly scattered for a build-up riff. You can feel the tension in the guitar hook as some fret work leads into the excellent riff change creating some heavy metal filth for you to wallow in as the pace is set to neck tendon snapping speed. If truth be told I would have preferred this tune to have been the closer, instead ‘Sing Of The Wolf’ gets the honour and is trademark Bewitcher that fans will obviously enjoy but it felt a little flat after ‘The Widow’s Blade’ as though the band are reminding us that they still play their filth driven speed, only on this album they have diversified.
Bands have to or need to progress but they also have to be extremely careful not to alienate their fan base but balance it out by attempting to retain it but pick up new ones for the ride. It is a hard balance to strike and can fail miserably and some thrash acts I know have released some terrible albums recently in their attempt to branch out. However fear not, Bewitcher’s hallmarked aggressive stance is intact, their blistering leads, their face melting riffs are all here in caustic glory but added to the mix we get a new Bewitcher too, expanding, differentiating to bring you an album that stands testament to their ability to write exceptional metal songs.
(8.5/10 Martin Harris)
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