Since the first time I heard the band unleash their sludgy, doom-fuelled riffs, I’ve been somewhat addicted to the mighty Witchsorrow. The true keepers of the Black Sabbath flame, their dark, funereal anthems for the damned are always a welcome antidote to the increasing pressures of modernity. On the one hand ‘Hexenhammer’, the band’s fourth album, is a perfect example of the band’s unholy doom might and yet there’s something to this album that sets it apart from what has gone before, the band delivering a set that refines all of the qualities found on their previous works to a level of perfection hitherto hinted at, but not realised with quite such consistency. Drawing upon the persecution of the witches for inspiration, it’s an astonishing work that benefits from some spectacularly evocative artwork (Paolo Girardi) not to mention a brutal production job (courtesy of Chris Fielding), that is the closest the band have yet come on record to replicating their none-more-heavy live sound.
Opening with the short, scene-setting ‘Maleficus’ (the infamous tome dedicated to detailing the torture and execution of witches), Witchsorrow announce their presence with a wall of distressed sludge that seems to hover, ominously, just in front of the speaker. Played at suitably high volume, it threatens threatens the foundations, and it sets the bar for the album incredibly high. Happily the first full-blown track, the near-eight-minute ‘Hexenhammer’ – an alias of the aforementioned text – does not disappoint. Despite maintaining the leaden pacing one would expect from doom, the slow pace does nothing to diminish the overwhelming weight of the riffs or the tremendous power of the drums. With Necroskull’s solos deftly layered over the piece to allow numerous dynamic shifts over its run time, ‘Hexenhammer’ is a masterclass in heavy goddamn metal – patches, frayed denim and all – and is destined for classic status in the years to come. Sensibly switching up a gear, ‘the devil’s throne’ is a short, ferocious blast of metallic fury, Wilbrahammer clearly enjoying the opportunity to work over his kit with near-primal savagery. Slowing the pace once more, the evil trudge of ‘Demons of the mind’ sees Emily’s bass tuned somewhere near the earth’s core as Necroskull pours feedback from his tortured amp. Listening through to ‘demons of the mind’ with its gargantuan riffs, eerily insistent melody and arcing solos, is like being transported back to my teenage years to hear this sort of music for the first time all over again. It’s hard to put your finger on exactly how the band have managed to hit on the formula for the perfect heavy metal song, but, like a group of mad alchemists throwing chemicals into a super-heated cauldron, they have and ‘demons of the mind’ marks the album’s towering peak.
However good ‘demons of the mind’ may be, the rest of the album aspires to no less and, as the second half kicks off with the lengthy groove of ‘Eternal’, there’s no sense that the band have exhausted their hell-sourced supply of coruscating riffs. As heavy as a heavy thing, yet built primarily around a superficially simple melody that sticks in the mind with a single-minded sense of purpose that requires an eighties pop song to undo, ‘eternal’ sees the band once again upping the pace to deliver what amounts to a head banger’s manifesto. Edging into Cathedral territory, the mid-tempo ‘The parish’ has a murky, psychedelic feel, rather like looking into a carnival mirror rimmed with blood, and Necroskull employs his creepiest vocals here as the music ebbs and flows – all leading up to a solo that is pure Iommi. The album concludes with the creeping might of ‘Like Sisyphus’, Necroskull delivering his lines like a mad preacher high on incense fumes and a thousand Christopher Lee performances. It is the perfect end to a perfect album and yet further evidence that, on ‘Hexenhammer’, Witchsorrow have exceeded even their own previously high standards.
Everything about ‘Hexenhammer’ reeks of quality. Chris Fielding has worked with the band long enough to know exactly how to capture the band at their best and it is arguable that Witchsorrow have never sounded better, or more urgent than they do here. A record that ably demonstrates the band’s utter love of heavy metal, ‘Hexenhammer’ sees their song-writing honed to its finest point and the overwhelming feeling throughout the album is one of raw excitement. Even on second and third listens, there’s that feeling that you can’t wait for what is coming next and the quality never dips. You may well hear faster, sleeker or more modern-sounding heavy metal albums this year, but you’ll not hear a better one – ‘Hexenhammer’ is the sound of three talented musicians playing for their lives, their overwhelming passion on display for all too see, and the results is a record that will stand the test of time. Guard your copy jealously, because this is a record destined for classic status. Mark my words, this is Witchsorrow’s masterpiece. 10
