Review: Witchsorrow ‘The Devil And All His Works’
Long-running Hampshire, UK doom metal trio, Witchsorrow, return with their first full-length in eight years, The Devil And All His Works, as they celebrate twenty years as a band.
While being aware of Witchsorrow’s existence, I must admit I had never heard them, and as happened many times before, upon seeing them in The Shaman’s review vortex, I took the opportunity to finally check them out.
As any fan of metal, doom, or non-such knows, any song – especially an opener that begins with ominous bell chimes – means there will be zero fucking around. Thus is the case here as opener Omnia Finiuntur creeps into life with those echoing tolls, bolstered by some creepy organ accents before the proverbial hammer comes crashing down. Packing mountain-leveling, fuzz-drenched riffage, a wrecking-ball doom swing in the rhythm section, and lead guitar noodling that sounds like it’s coming through layers of smoke. Layered with psychedelic yet pissed-off vocals, Witchsorrow batter the listener into submission for the full eleven-and-a-half-minute runtime with some of the nastiest and most pulverizing doom one will hear all year.
Next up, Bacchus ups the tempo a bit while keeping the killer Sabbath swing on the drums, as vocalist/guitarist Necroskull provides appropriately crushing riffs and delivers vocals that had me recalling Black Rainbows’ main man Gabriele Fiori. Pre-release single, the awesomely titled Hades Chains, is a vicious, chugging affair that drips attitude and sounds like what early Venom, playing on Cathedral’s gear, recorded in another dimension might sound like. Both infinitely catchy and devastatingly heavy, this monster will have even the most jaded doom metal fan nodding in approval.
mountain-leveling, fuzz-drenched riffage…
The band get unsettling, conjuring the energy of Tom G. Warrior’s Triptykon with the portal-opening psych-doom of Altar. Here, bassist Emily Witch and new drummer Scott ‘Doom’ Taylor lock into a walloping doom-nod, anchoring Necroskull’s screeds, which recall Lee Dorrian as if singing through several layers of massive distortion. Hitting the home stretch, things get kicked up several notches with the NWOBHM-ish charge of In Triumph We Rott!!!, boasting a fun, earworm chorus and a layer of punkish grime permeating every note.
The penultimate Lamentation is a two-minute, pulverizing doom, almost-instrumental that sets up closer A Quintessence Of Dust. A monolithic doom crawl, it lurches forth through numerous layers of psychedelic distortion before descending into a Sabbath-style explosion of riffs, shred, and pummeling drums. It eventually circles back into the aforementioned doom-crawl that sees the return of the foreboding bell chimes, which fade into oblivion as the album comes to a close.
At this point, it is indisputable that the United Kingdom simply owns the doom metal sound, with The Devil And All His Works being yet another stellar example of this. Yes, there are plenty of awesome doom bands around the world, but there is a specific sound, vibe, and energy that, to my ears anyway, is exclusive to the United Kingdom – fitting, as it is the birthplace of Black Sabbath. This is a stellar album that splits the difference between classics like Cathedral and Electric Wizard with some of the punky energy of newer UK mavericks like Margarita Witchcult. Recommended.
Label: Church Road Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Martin Williams
