ALBUM REVIEW: Exordium – Wytch

For those not versed in Latin, Exordium translates to “beginning of the web”. In layman’s terms, it’s the introduction to something like a story. It’s the perfect title for a debut album. More so when attributed to Swedish rock band WYTCH. From May 21st, everyone’s invited to the coven induction.

Our coven brothers and sisters; Johanna Lundberg [vocals], Simon Lundstrom [bass/vocals], Niklas Viklund [guitars/vocals], Mattias Marklund [guitars/vocals], and Fredrik Nilsson [drums] enchant the listener with eight tracks of delectable darkness.

Black Hole oozes with atmosphere. A punchy bass line crawls up the spine before thick, dense riffs transfix the listener. Lundberg’s sultry vocals cast her as the temptress. “What do I strive for if I don’t feel alive” draws the listener in. The mind’s eye seeing droves of soon to be victims clamouring to save her from the torture of mental torment. With an instrumental as heady as this and crashing drums, to would be easy to lose Lundberg in the mix. The haunting quality of her voice hangs in the air like a phantom.

From here, WYTCH sink their claws into the listener, showing their true face. Savior unveils the duplicity of the human race to the tune of a sensual western soundtrack. Its elevation into faster rhythms and chanting choruses feels natural. WYTCH aren’t sugar, spice and all things benevolent. Evil Heart does what it says on the tin. Elements of punk pierce with ferocity. Malice seeps through the line “you know I’m evil in my heart”. The melodic solo winds its way round the listener’s heart, puncturing an artery or two along the way.

It wouldn’t be an initiation ceremony without some implied participation. Rebel has WYTCH kissing the listener’s feet, feeding lines of worship. The notes of the muted melody dance through shadows. Lundberg’s breathy compliments hook into fragile egos, massaging them to bloatation. Rebel swells into hypnotic heaviness. Guitars buzz and echo, leading the listener to jump from the cliff’s edge like a lemmings.

It would be too nice for WYTCH to lavish their subject with love and attention. For good measure, they also remind this captive they’re expendable. Warrior’s riffs torment these lambs to the slaughter. Lundberg has no trouble filling the role of boastful mage. Break You Down sees the initiation near completion. The subject of WYTCH’s desire finally succumbing to temptation. This suffocation almost crushes the solo, giving it little room to breathe. Yet in this instance, the cage surrounding the transitions has its purpose.

Exordium entices the listener with magnificent tableaus of depravity. Lundberg‘s character in WYTCH isn’t too dissimilar to Lady Dimitrescu. An intriguing enchantress with the power to crush a soul beneath the sole of her boot is divine. WYTCH are refreshing in the fact they have a concrete identity. Exordium’s ensnarement factor will stick in the mind long after the final second.

Rating: 8/10

Exordium is out now via Ripple Music.

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