It’s safe to say that heavy music as a genre, has accumulated an abundance of different styles and sounds, since the late sixties. While some monickers, now considered legendary, trailblazers, and even given the pseudo ageism term of “legacy bands”, the same old-school sounds are very much alive in wave after wave of new bands.
Satan, flames, youth, mayhem, rebellion, it’s all rock’n’roll in the end. When it comes to black heavy bands, I tend to steer towards something a bit more left-field (MALOKARPATAN for example). That, or I want something a bit more gritty like DEATHHAMMER or DESTROYER 666. My question is: should a band like BEWITCHER get a pass in 2024? Don’t sound the alarm just yet!
Ultimately, it’s subjective, what you like and don’t like. I’m very picky with throwback bands, and I had a hunch going into “Spell Shock”. I wasn’t blown away by their previous albums, but they seem like an honest and hard-working band, and they’re scoring good reviews all across the board from what I’ve read. kudos. In this case, I’ll play the adversary, and keep a critical form of reasoning aimed at a band, delivering the metal goods in 2024, the old school way.
The band has produced a super catchy (mostly) album. The approach is a crowd-pleaser, VENOM meets MOTORHEAD, meets JUDAS PRIEST, so basically, full throttle through the flames! The execution is stellar. The production has enough uniqueness to it. It’s good for what it is. A blackened heavy metal album with hard rock and sleazy! And “Spell Shock” isn’t trying to be anything else.
Therein lies the predicament for me, as hinted above. First things first though. “Out Against The Law”, “Seasons Of Foul Harvest” and “We Die In Dust” hit the spot, insanely catchy and engaging tracks, especially the last mentioned which has a really cool middle-part reminiscent of “Killers” era IRON MAIDEN, shaking things up a bit. The rest of the songs just go by, mostly pedestrian songwriting to my ears, and it’s not even unrefined, it’s well done, but it lacks something, maybe it’s the echoes of the old vanguard in the riffs and pacing. The western flavored instrumental “Pagan Shadows” is a promising build-up to the grand final of “Ride Of The Ironfox”, but alas it’s a rather lukewarm ending.
The vocals get pretty stale after a couple of tracks, it’s a cool mixture of Abbath and Cronos type of croak but it’s hardly a novelty upon a pedestal in 2024. The gang vocals in the title track and “Out Against The Law” are a nice touch (both future live bangers no doubt), adding a certain punk / hardcore vibe.
BEWITCHER and “Spell Shock” sound pretty harmless to me, but it’s a fun listen, and that’s it, no need to complicate things.
Rating: 6 /10
Release date: 27th September
Label: Century Media Records
Writer: Extreme Metal Voyager
Tracklist:
- Stafire Maelstrom
- Lavish Desecration
- Spell Shock
- Out Against The Law
- Dystopic Demonolatry
- Seasons Of Foul Harvest
- We Die In Dust
- The Harem Conspiracy
- Pagan Shadow
- Ride Of The Ironfox
