ALBUM REVIEW: Bewitcher – Under The Witching Cross

Here I review the 2nd full length album from Speed Metal fanatics, Bewitcher. Set for release on May 10th via Shadow Kingdom Records.

1. Savage Lands Of Satan sets us in with creepy sampling, setting a dark mood that suits the old school style of the band perfectly. We are quickly thrown into blasting drums and storming riffs with a tormenting scream, hitting hard with punchy songwriting and with a production that captures the old speed spirit, this is going to be some killer material. A chaotic frenzy envelopes the band while remaining punctual with tight musicianship, filled with sleaze and raw aggression. There is some excellent slow tempo doomy riffing and gorgeous leads too, an interesting use of diversity in Speed Metal. This opening song was absolutely epic.
2. Hexenkrieg follows up with more churning riffs, thunderous bass and upbeat drums. The snarled screams of the vocalist are immediately lovable as are the ripping instrumentals that have such an awesome ferocity to them, driving us through catchy, fun and maniacally violent Speed Metal nostalgia. I love the groove of this track this just slays with its primal purity, absolutely furious with a nice break, allowing the song to rebuild the monolithic momentum with some stunning old school melodies. Fantastic.
3. Under The Witching Cross opens with some insane drum fills and lurches forth with menacing guitars, the punchy grooves hooking out true Metal mania with such precision. More grisly screams over the rhythmic instruments add to the punk-like catchiness of the piece with its tight and rich production that grinds out bellowing war-noise with no holds barred. This song is so damn anthemic, certainly one that will conjure up crazy mosh pits and get everyone yelling along! The bleaker sections break stuff up while allowing the atmosphere of the track to hold strong, especially with the haunting spoken word and lead guitar work. Excellent work.
4. Heathen Woman sets in with more punchy drums and sleazy guitars with such a brilliant encapsulation of the Speed spirit from the off that drives out so much forceful aggression with the blackened thrashing mayhem that follows. The headbanger friendly pace of the piece hits with wave after wave of monstrous riffing, drums and screams. This track (much like the others) could have been torn straight out of the 80s with such a naturally old school sound to the music that makes it insanely enticing. The chorus especially is just so damn strong as is the blistering guitar solo. Wonderful.
5. Too Fast For The Flames ferociously hits us with pounding drums and monstrous riffing, accompanied by haunting howls that all create a storming assault of killer extremity. God damn this piece has some gorgeous guitar riffs, filled with soul and melody but that also tear you to shreds with their menacing fury. The solos are equally brilliant, backed up by a hammering drum performance and demonic vocal work. This song sure as hell is “Too Fast For The Flames”, delivering on the high-octane speed madness that the title offers.
6. In The Sign Of The Goat opens with slower tempo grooves and old school chord strikes. Forceful drum beats back up these gnarly riffs and we are built into a more traditional Heavy Metal assault with powerful songwriting and performance from the whole band, giving a truly classic track filled with variation to the fans of any genre of Metal, I fail to see who would not love this piece. This track hammers out lustful music that is mesmerisingly in-your-face with an unrelenting pounding from the whole band that is punishing, amazing and filled with a natural swagger. Fierce!
7. Rome Is On Fire blasts into punky grooves with menacing guitar riffs, unrelenting drums and more tortured yells. The whiplash pace of the song seems to come out of nowhere, hitting hard and leaving a trail of decimation with the furious performance of the whole band who clearly put tons of passionate aggression into their material. The face-melting guitar solo breaks up the otherwise quite primitive assault that hooks beautifully with a tornado of malignancy. The clean chants over the atmospheric instrumentals were also a really cool and unique touch that I did not expect. Brilliant work.
8. Frost Moon Ritual is the final track, sadly, this album being of such high quality that time just disappears while it draws you in with its captivating Speed Metal antics. Setting in with ambient acoustic guitars that are played beautifully, this song is going to finish the album with a much darker piece. The crashing cymbals build tension to the anthemic guitar riffing, the slow-tempo combination packing a really tight punch. There is natural growth of life in the song, increasing in speed and aggression but in a slow-burning and well paced manner. The lead guitars do their thing with melodic shredding that elevates the liveliness of the song even further. Finishing on an instrumental piece was a bold move, but one that I think paid off as this piece was diverse enough not to become boring. This allowed the album to bow out with real style having remained consistently aggressive, it fades out beautifully but with plenty of speedy work and shredding thrown in too.

This album hits all the right spots for the lovers of Speed Metal. With an old school production style and plenty of sleazy, aggressive songwriting to match, this record has the perfect mixture of nostalgic value and also ripping new ideas. A must listen for fans of Speed/Black/Thrash in all of its extremity and glory. -9/10