ALBUM REVIEW: Dance With The Devil – Burning Witches
In the five years since their formation, Swiss quintet BURNING WITCHES have gone from strength to strength. 2018’s Hexenhammer oozed sheer class and the heavy metal spirit of decades gone by, indicating that this band have the potential to become a vital cog in the traditional metal revival movement. Now, two years later, comes album three Dance With The Devil, a record in which the band hope will cement their claim for the throne.
Across the record’s twelve track runtime, BURNING WITCHES intend to hurtle along their path to heavy metal dominance in top gear and to a great extent, they achieve just that. There is no musical experimentation or re-writing the heavy metal rulebook here, Dance With The Devil is an out-and-out pure heavy metal record and it’s exhilarating to say the least. After the customary introduction track The Incantation, the band set an immediate precedent with Lucid Nightmare as slick riffing from guitarists Sonia Nusselder and Romana Kalkuhl come out swinging, Lala Frischknecht‘s rolling artilley-esque drumming is as powerful as one would expect and new vocalist Laura Guldemond makes an immediately positive first impression. It’s the best possible start to the record, ushering in the new era of BURNING WITCHES.
From there, BURNING WITCHES continue to dazzle and impress. Opting largely for a shock and awe approach, the band’s ability to wring intoxicatingly catchy metal songs is their greatest strength. The Sisters of Fate oozes a hefty glam influence, harkening back to days gone by where debauchery and excess ruled the roost, the title track Dance With The Devil is one of the best songs the band have ever written thanks to slick riffing and an emphatic chorus and Wings of Steel‘s German thrash influence makes for yet another moment that will have your fists raised to the sky.
What’s notable for Dance With The Devil however is that this time around, there has been a change in personnel. Changing band members can have a huge impact on the resulting music, but when it is the vocalist the impact can be even more detrimental. Get it wrong and the result can undo all the good work achieved previously. Fortunately for BURNING WITCHES they overcome this hurdle as new vocalist Laura Guldemond dispatches an assured and commanding presence across the record’s twelve tracks. From the devilishly wicked passages on Sea of Lies which ebbs and flows smoothly to the impactful deliveries on the obligatory ballad Black Magic, Guldemond has hit the ground running in the BURNING WITCHES camp and moving forward, it will surely only continue to get better.
Given the hurdle of the tricky third album as well as introducing a new vocalist to the fold, BURNING WITCHES could have missed the target with Dance With The Devil. However, not only have they hit the board, the band have hit bullseye as their third offering is easily their strongest output to date. With rarely a dull or uninspired moment, Dance With The Devil is an absolute romp, it’s a record that channels the passion, ferocity and sheer spirit of what makes heavy metal so great in the first place and if you have ever enjoyed metal in any capacity, this record will sit comfortably in your collection.
Rating: 8/10
Dance With The Devil is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.
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