Witchcraft-re-issues-s/t, Firewood and the Alchemist

 

 

Metal Blade/Rise Above
2012 re-issues/originally released 2004, 2005, 2007

I was listening to the Alchemist not so long ago and wondering why Sweden's Witchcraft hadn't done any new music in  years because the last I know they were still together. Then I see that their three lps have gotten re-released. Okay, it's not new material but it will have to do although the latest word is their forth album will be called Legend and it will come out this fall. Which might mean it's a perfect time to explore their back catalog again. Witchcraft formed back in 2000 and by 2004 their self-titled release came out. They are often labeled as a doom band and that's not incorrect. Although they owe far more to early 70's proto-metal bands than they do to 80's doom acts like Candlemass or Saint Vitus. The influences on all three of these albums include Pentagram, Jethro Tull, Sabbath, Dust, Bang and other pioneers. The 2004 debut is probably the most primitive album and the one I would say could be considered the most straight ahead doom in it's approach. Unlike other bands that just draw on influences Witchcraft instead try to sound like they came from a different era. They have the sound, the production and have frequently recorded on vintage equipment in order to get their music to sound like it was done in the early 1970's. The debut has more tracks than either of the two follow-ups. It definitely has a sound like a bunch of guys jamming in a basement or a garage, which is likely what they were aiming for.  My favorite tracks on the debut are "Lady winter", "No angel or demon" and "It's no easy".
A year later the sophomore album "Firewood" was released and that's when I first hear Witchcraft. The sound and the approach was still along the same lines as the debut, but something had changed and for the better. Their control of the pace and their ability to change up the tempo showed a marked improvement.  They had gone from sounding like a rough tribute band to almost being masters of the style. Although the Pentagram influence was possibly even greater. I remember playing this album a lot when it first came out. Despite the obvious influences they were just so catchy. Favorite tracks on  "Mr. Haze", "I see a man" and "Chyld of fire".
Then two years went by before "The Alchemist" came out in the fall of 2007. The style is still similar to the other albums but once again they made another leap forward with their writing and playing. What they really developed on this album was the ability to launch into non-traditional song structures and just run with them. This approach kind of goes back to jamming skills they showed on the debut except this time around it's far more refined. By refined I mean that everything seems very automatic but they still have those rough and heavy images that defined many of their songs on all three albums. They were definitely coming into their own with this album and I was actually surprised by the amount of progress they showed on this album. My favorite tracks here are "Hey, doctor", "Remembered" and the title track.
Thanks to Metal Blade and Rise Above for re-issuing these albums and reminding me how much I enjoyed Witchcraft. I am looking forward to the new album in a few months, but with the line-up changes and the amount of time since the last album I do wonder how the new album will compare with their previous work.

The seven best hard rock/metal bands of the last seven years

Okay, to celebrate the seventh blogiversary I commited to coming up with a list of what I think are the seven best bands of the last seven years. So that allows us back to mid 2005. My task is selecting what seven hard rock metal bands have produced the best music since then. There were some bands who started that time period well, but have since broken up and that ended their chances (Ogre and Byzantine fall in this cateogry). There were the bands that did something great in the early part of the seven year time period, but  have not followed it up (Acid King, Celtic Frost). So here are my final choices in no real order.

 Ufomammut-This Italian outfit plays a combination of experimental/doom/stoner/noise and they have just gotten better and better with each album. They released my favorite album of 2010 and their current album is my favorite of 2012 so far.

Sigh-I have trouble thinking of Sigh as being a veteran outfit, but with more than 20 years in the business they are. Their sound hasn't as much changed over the years as it has evolved. I enjoy their earlier material, but I am mesmerized by their more recent efforts.

Between the buried and me-A prog band? What was I thinking? Sure, these guys have the technical skills, but the important thing is they put the rock into progressive rock and they are heavy to boot. It's also possible that they have not yet reached their peak.

Admiral Browning-Yes, I know you've probably never heard of them. They are a Maryland trio who play doom/stoner/progressive instrumentals. They are amazing and really mix up the tones and sounds.

Iron Maiden-What? This isn't the 80's, what kind of suck-up fanboy are you, Metal Mark? Stick with me here. Now granted Maiden's output isn't as frequent as they once were. This seven year period has seen them release A matter of life and death (great, one of their best and best album of 2006), The Final Frontier was a top five in it's year plus add in Flight 666 and En Vivo! and you see and hear a band that's still one of the best going.

Hibria-Come on, Metal Mark the list is almost over and not one younger retro-thrash or retro-classic metal or retro-something. Okay, how about Hibria. Unfortunately their "Defying the rules" album falls about eight months before the cutoff, but their other albums are just as good. I could pick someone like Municipal Waste or Enforcer who have done a good job of channeling the vibe of old school metal. However Hibria do that plus they combine classic metal and power metal plus they manage to develop some of their own identity as well.

Gypsy Pistoleros/Gypsy Pistolero-What no glam bands on this list? Easily the best glam band in recent years. Creative, energetic and catchy. The only downside is they have really suffered from being unable to keep a stable line-up.


There you go. Love it, hate it, add own list.

7th blogiversary

That's right this blog has somehow lasted seven years today. Thanks to all who read and comment here. Also thanks to all the bands, labels and PR people that send us stuff to review. We couldn't gone this long without you. Hope you keep dropping by, reading, and commenting.

Darkness-Conclusion and revival

Battle Cry
1989, 2005, 2010

Change can be a good thing, but it can also be a killer too. In 1988 Darkness had released "Defenders of justice" their second album and both were very strong thrash albums. Unfortunately there were problems within the band and between the band and their label. Very soon guitarist Pierre Danielscyk and more importantly vocalist Oliver Fernickel were out. The band reluctantly added vocalist Ray Druschal and decided to continue as a four piece. Their relationship with their label Gama was now strained and their music direction was changing quickly. The results are Conclusion and Revival which is mixed bag of ill-conceived ideas and scattered styles. The thrash of their previous efforts is still present on a few songs, but they also brought in classic metal, punk rock and even some funky moments. Now that might sound promising in print, but trust me it didn't make translate well when they recorded it. The music lacks soul and personality as it just seems like they didn't know how to put the styles together. Vocalist Ray Druschal just wasn't a sufficient replacement for Oliver Fernickel. Druschal lacked to power and grit to pull it off. The production on this album is better, but that's about it. They would release a live album after this and then call it quits a few years later. However in 2004 several members re-united and continued on as Eure Erben playing the style started on the first two Darkness albums. They chose a different band name because they although they wanted to play their old thrash songs they didn't feel they could be Darkness without Olli Fernickel and he had unfortunately passed away in 1998. Despite the fact that this album was disappointing it must be pointed out that the re-issue does include a Eure Erben song from 2005 and the raw, but impressive "Titanic War" demo from 1986 as bonus tracks. This re-issue originally put out in 2005, but is now back in print.

Darkness-Defenders of Justice

Battle cry
1988/2005/2010

When you think of the German speed metal scene from the 1980's you invariably come to the big three of Destruction, Kreator and Sodom. Like any other scene there were some overlooked bands behind the big names. Darkness would be one of top choices from this scene. The knocked out numerous demos before finally releasing their debut "Death Squad" in 1987. The sound was a mix of powerful thrash with hardcore undertones. The next year "Defenders of justice" brought even more of the same sound. They had it all in terms of intensity, an abundance of monster riffs, a great sense of pacing and just a great feel for how to get the most out of their music. In fact the songwriting was actually tighter here than on the debut. Tracks like "Predetermined destined" and "They need a war" show the band's ability to control and build the song with multiple parts. By 1988 this band was definitely playing at a high level. They knew how to churn out crunching blasts and when to launch into head banging gallops. The production could have been better, but their talent reaches far past the weak production and crappy album cover. Unfortunately they didn't get the kind of exposure outside of Europe that the big three of the scene got. Also differences in musical direction would lead to changes in the line-up and the musical direction so "Defenders of Justice" ended up being the last really good album from this band. This re-issue includes eight bonus tracks including several songs from early demos. This re-issued version was originally put out by Battle Cry in 2005 and the same version has come back into print this year. This album holds up well and makes wish the band had gotten more recognition back when it was first released.

Ratt mirror

Running behind with writing this week. Work has been busy as we switched to a new cataloging system. I thought I would just link to an old post today. This is one of the first posts I ever made. Enjoy. I may get time to write an album review later today.


http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2005/06/ratt-mirror-in-my-living-room.html

Final Axe-Beyond Hells Gate

Retroactive
2005/2010



Beyond Hells Gate was originally released back in 2005. This collectors edition has new artwork and has been remixed, re-mastered and partially re-recorded. Guitarist/songwriter Bill Menchen has been involved with many projects over the years, but Final Axe is probably my favorite. Just something about how comfortable the band is with their material shines through with this particular project. Musically Final Axe sound like a cross between Judas Priest, And justice for all era Metallica and perhaps Meliah Rage. They waste little time is tearing forward with tight chops and they never waste any riffs or beats. Vocalist Keith Miles is one of my favorite of the singers that Bill Menchen has worked with. Miles sounds something James Hetfield only a little more force and grit. One of my biggest complaints with a number of christian metal bands is the lyrics tend to be a trifle wordy and many singers stumble with them. I don't know if it's the vocals or the vocalist, but on this album they work just fine. Robert Sweet was brought in to do the drums on this re-issue. Now I am certainly not a big Stryper fan, but I have always felt that he was a fine drummer. He gets even more of a chance to let loose on this album because it's much heavier material than he usually plays on with Stryper. Sweet has played on most of Bill Menchen's projects in recent years and it's been a productive partnership. Now for Menchen himself, his playing is spot on. He is a master of many riffs and his best ones seem to end up on Final Axe albums. All of the songs on this disc are easy to get into. A solid disc all the way around.