WITCHERY — Witchkrieg (review)

WITCHERY — Witchkrieg album cover Album · 2010 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Witchkrieg" is the 5th full-length studio album by Swedish heavy metal act Witchery. The album was released through Century Media Records in June 2010. It´s the successor to "Don't Fear the Reaper" from 2006. There´s been one lineup change since the release of "Don't Fear the Reaper (2006)" as Erik "Legion" Hagstedt (Marduk) has replaced lead vocalist Toxine, who performed vocals on all four preceding releases by the band.

Stylistically "Witchkrieg" continues down the same blackened thrash/speed/heavy metal path they´ve played since day one. The 10 track, 34:25 minutes long album therefore features very few surprises and not even the lead vocalist change has much impact, although Hagstedt brings a few more death metal growls into the vocal department, but the dominant vocal style is still a blackened snarl. So "Witchkrieg" is more or less business as usual, and in the case of Witchery, that´s great news. They´ve released quite a few high quality releases with a relatively distinct sound, so there´s no need to change a winning formula.

The material is well written, catchy, and effective. The tracks are in most cases instantly memorable and "Witchkrieg" also features a good overall flow, with both faster-paced speed/thrash metal tracks and heavier heavy metal oriented tracks. A shining example of the latter is "The God Who Fell From Earth", which to my ears is an absolutely brilliant track. Other standout tracks are the opening title track and "Devil Rides Out", but every track on the album is of high quality and deserve a mention.

"Witchkrieg" is an incredibly well produced album too, and upon conclusion it´s another really strong release by Witchery. It´s not all artists who are able to continue with a new vocalist as if nothing has happened (and I mean that in a positive way), but that just shows how strong Witchery´s foundation and core style is. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.
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