Hitting the metal scene back in 1998 with their glorious debut entitled Restless & Dead, Witchery have conjured up a metallic noise that is immediately recognizable. A sound born from the graveyards of Linköping, Sweden and the remnants of a legendary band in its own right, Satanic Slaughter (the North American release features a cover of Legion of Hades). With previous releases Dead, Hot & Ready, Witchburner (EP) and Symphony For The Devil, the band grew within its own sound without compromising their grim and reckless atmosphere.

With the release of Don’t Fear The Reaper, Witchery continues with their tried and true bonesaw sound but manages to create a fresh yet familiar landscape as well. Some may assume that Witchery was the ’side project’ and out of that, the band may not have been given the credit they deserve. Give Don’t Fear The Reaper a spin and hear for yourself that it feels damn good to have a new Witchery album.

Don’t Fear The Reaper may be their most mature and richest sounding album to date in that it has a very deliberate quality to it. Crushing and to-the-point songwriting highlight this particular release. Opening intro track Disturbing The Beast begins with drummer Martin Axenrot’s (Bloodbath’s Nighmares Made Flesh) fundamental yet effective drum roll to signify the beginning of what’s to come; a style and sound that is all Witchery. Relentless double bass, scorching vocals from Toxine (Tony Kampner) and viciously skeletal riffing from Patrik Jensen, Rille (Richard Corpse) and Sharlee D’Angelo all seem to fit together perfectly.

The rich texture created here is more noticeable on tracks such as Draw Blood and The Wait Of The Pyramids. The latter, an instrumental, features some very tasteful lead work and perpetuates the bands affinity for instrumentals. Listen carefully and you’ll most likely recognize The Call Of Ktulu in those ‘Pyramids. While those tracks plod along with deliberate intensity, Plague Rider and the ultra-quick Immortal Death are the albums raging neck breakers. Immortal Death for example, clocks in at a mere 1:22 but is a damn fine burst of thrash/speed metal.

Adding to the atmosphere only Witchery can create, War Piece is another instrumental that just happens to be structured around a haunting (pun intended) riff that Jensen could write in his sleep. Not to imply that it’s pedestrian by any means because it’s not; it’s classic Witchery guitar work.

Two of the more unique tracks offered here are Ashes and Styx. Ashes opens with what many could call a very Dimmu-like ambient keyboard mood. However, the song quickly develops an identity of its own through both style and delivery. What are particularly effective are the recurring ‘gang’ grunts that soak through the song with hypnotizing regularity. Very well done. Styx, at the 2:00 mark, pounds along with a grinding breakdown in the vein of Midnight At The Graveyard off Restless & Dead. In fact, Styx and Damned In Hell serve as the obligatory headbangers of the bunch here. Infectious as hell, as catchy as ever and totally fucking badass.

Recorded at Berno Studios and mixed by Tue Madsen (The Haunted, Kataklysm), Don’t Fear The Reaper boasts a more luscious and distinctive sound than the bands previous work. The guitars are, as you would expect, crisp yet rich and heavy. Toxine’s vocals follow suit and come off a bit heavier as well. Not necessarily a drastic change but they blend nicely with the overall feel of the album. Two instrumental tracks while Toxine’s vocals are as strong as ever is an interesting call indeed but a successful one nonetheless. Bassist Sharlee D’Angelo shines as he does on anything he touches. Foreboding yet subtle, Sharlee compliments Witchery’s writing style perfectly. Martin Axenrot shows an enormous amount of class on Don’t Fear The Reaper. He clearly has the ability to crush everything in his path but chooses his weapons wisely here.

After a short hiatus, Witchery has returned with one of their stronger albums. Don’t Fear The Reaper delivers exactly what I would expect from a Witchery album; a sinister slab of gravecore that’s very well written and, most importantly, is a blast to listen to. W’s held high for Don’t Fear The Reaper!

This entry was posted by BSH on Wednesday, 8th February, 2006 at 6:31 and is filed under Reviews, Witchery. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response below. You may view a   printable version of this page. You may download this page in   PDF format.