With so many bands ploughing the furrow of classic rock, it’s great to hear a band unleashing classic metal with unfettered abandon. Burning Witches, from Switzerland, draw from the likes of Queensryche, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden (with elements of thrash thrown in for good measure) and, on this short EP, they absolutely shatter the opposition with the blazing title track and then hammer home the point with three blistering cuts captured at this year’s Wacken festival.
An absolutely devastating opening cut, the hyperactive Wings of Steel belies the cliched title and delivers an instant heavy metal classic. From the Halford-esque squeal with which Laura Guldemond opens the track to the battering-ram percussion of Lala Frischknecht, Burning Witches pull no punches and their delivery is relentless. By the time the band hit the harmonised solos (Romana Kalkhul and Sonia Nusselder), heavy metal fans the world over will be in raptures.
What follows is a masterclass in how to demolish a festival. Offering up three tracks from the band’s outstanding Hexenhammer album, the opening Executed, with its shimmering acoustic guitar and soft vocal echoes Maiden’s epic Hallowed Be Thy Name before haring off in a Priest-esque direction when the whip-crack drums and hyper-speed guitars kick in. The band’s performance is excellent, the sound slightly less so (although it mostly suffers from comparison to the pristine studio track), being a raw representation of the band with no filters or overdubs in evidence. Nevertheless, by the time the track concludes, you’ll be banging your head as if you were there. Next up, Open your mind is a full-bore thrashgasm, the band putting the collective pedal to the metal to the delight of the audience, with only the fade out (cutting off a brief stage rap) slightly spoiling things. The final track, the epic Hexenhammer sees the band ignite the mosh pit from the front all the way to the back, and it provides the EP with the grand finale it deserves. Once again, the band’s delivery (especially the vocals) is phenomenal and it’s easy to imagine the sweat and the steam of the pit for this one.
Burning Witches have rapidly made a strong name for themselves in the wake of last year’s Hexenhammer and Wings Of Steel does much to cement that reputation. The title track alone is worth the price of admission, whilst the three live cuts, left admirably raw, show the band in their element, tearing up the stage at Wacken. Harking back to the days of rifling through the latest vinyl releases, when metal bands regularly backed EPs with live cuts, it’s great to hear the band in full flight on this release. Crank it up and let the adrenalin flow! 8.5/10
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