ALBUM REVIEW: The Devil And All His Works – Witchsorrow
In many ways, the true human experience is all about searching for the answers to life’s unanswerable questions: if a tree falls in the woods but there is no one around to see or hear it, does it still make a sound? Do we truly have free will? Can one ever really view anything objectively? And, most importantly, if a doom metal album doesn’t open with the sound of a tolling bell, is it even a proper doom metal album? Well wonder no more, for here come dark masters WITCHSORROW to truly teach you what proper doom is all about. None of this high-falutin’ progressive nonsense being sent forth by the likes of SLIFT or BOSS KELOID – this is doom from the oldest of old schools.
The Hampshire trio have been away for some time, with eight years passing since last album Hexenhammer but on first listen to their latest offering, The Devil And All His Works, it is immediately clear that absence has not mellowed this gloom-riddled beast. Opening track Omnia Finiuntar confirms this (and helps to answer one of our previous questions) in all its bell-tolling glory, with Necroskull’s guitars and Emily Witch’s bass combining in true Iommi/Butler fashion while the drumming of Willbrahammer (here sadly making his final recorded appearance with the band) adds the crushing weight of a stone altar to proceedings. Throughout their career, WITCHSORROW have been compared to UK doom legends and fellow SABBATH worshippers CATHEDRAL, a band still sorely missed long after their 2013 break-up. Across the near 12 minute running time of this epic opening song, it’s easy to see why, especially when you hear Necroskull’s reverb-heavy Lee Dorrian-esque vocals. However, this is early 90s CATHEDRAL we’re talking about here, as opposed to their later more experimental eras. It is raw, unfiltered and almost catastrophic in its immense weight.
Second track Bacchus, an ode to sin and decadence, carries things along a similar path, the fuzzing, downtuned riffs pounding away while the drums and bass add accents on off-beats that give the song a real persistent groove. It’s not all monolithically slow stuff though, as on Hades Chains (featuring guest vocals from Serena Cherry of SVALBARD) and In Triumph We Rot!!! the band really knocks things up a notch and ventures into balls-out metal territory, producing a couple of headbanging monsters that will no doubt get the pits swirling when played live. The latter pays lyrical tribute to the doom scene itself and you can imagine this becoming an unofficial anthem for all the loyal loyal flare-wearing, crucifix-bearing slaves-to-the-riff everywhere: “The chosen ones gather in hate, cursed to the grave in endless decay, Doom round our throats til the end”.
Most of the seven tracks here from WITCHSORROW are aimed straight at the ears of the doom purists, though, with weighty sprawling epics like Altar and melancholy album closer A Quintessence Of Dust showcasing the band’s creative approach to a tried and tested formula, as well as some particularly impressive lead guitar work from Necroskull. As is often the case with this genre, the oppressive weight of the music needs to be matched by the quality of the production and that has definitely been achieved in spades with this record, thanks in no small part to the production magic of UK underground metal legend and former CONAN bassist Chris Fielding. If his name is on the credits, you just know you’re getting something really nasty, in the best possible way.
Those new to doom metal will perhaps not find anything here that will suck them into the genre but fans of classic SABBATH, CATHEDRAL and PENTAGRAM will no doubt have a whale of a time with The Devil And All His Works.
Rating: 8/10
The Devil And All His Works is out now via Church Road Records.
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