ALBUM REVIEW: Black Metal – Witchcraft

WITCHCRAFT were among the front runners of the occult rock revival in the mid noughties, centred around Lee Dorrian’s label, Rise Above Records. Along with former label mates and fellow Swedes GHOST, Magnus Pelander’s WITCHCRAFT were eventually signed to a major label – but, rather than courting mainstream appeal with camp Satanism, WITCHCRAFT remained committed to reproducing and refining the dark spirituality of PENTAGRAM. Some of the magic was gone, though. Legend abandoned the vintage production values of the first three albums, which promptly lost them their cult following, and while their blues-inflected hard rock still had an audience, others were doing it better. Nucleus’ lilting, progressive sound would win over critics, but never became a commercial success. Then, four years subsequent, it was revealed that the new album Black Metal would be an entirely acoustic release. It was anyone’s guess whether Pelander had found a new direction for WITCHCRAFT, or whether the band’s decline had become a sheer nosedive.

Each incarnation of this band has featured a new line-up, and in that regard alone, Black Metal is business as usual. More than it already was, WITCHCRAFT has become Pelander’s solo-project: Black Metal features just seven songs, one man, and an acoustic guitar. The atmosphere is desolate, yet intimate. Opening track Elegantly Expressed Depression promises to articulate despondency, loneliness and quietude, and Pelander presents these themes throughout Black Metal with an unmistakable authenticity. There is an understated beauty in his performance which is candid and, at moments, fairly unpolished – but these are not stripped back WITCHCRAFT demos, by any means.

While there are some moments in which Pelander’s melodic intuition shines through – notably, the refrains in Sad People and Take Him Away – the album is otherwise rather minimalist, and his vocal performance takes centre stage. Black Metal is a confessional, and Pelander confides to his listener directly. “By now, you’re probably tired of listening to my requiem,” he croons, “but sadness has a way to give way to happiness.”

Black Metal seems to have been conceived to subvert expectations: while it is certainly black, it is definitely not metal, and that is the point. This is visceral and affecting music, but it is also nuanced and mild. The difficulty, though, is that the acoustic singer-songwriter format has been explored exhaustively, and Pelander’s efforts fall short of an exceptionally high standard. This is not the return to form many will have wanted, and as a WITCHCRAFT album it is positively unrecognisable. One wonders if Black Metal will ever find its audience, or if it has one. Some things are best left to solo projects, unless a label’s contract needs to be fulfilled, of course…

Rating: 5/10

Black Metal is set for release May 1st via Nuclear Blast Records.

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