ALBUM REVIEW: Hexenhammer – Witchsorrow

It’s been three years since Hampshire’s WITCHSORROW released their last album No Light, Only Fire, and the doom scene has changed quite a bit in that time. Recently the bands that have got the biggest push have tended to be either retro tinged, clean sounding affairs or full on funeral doom, with sometimes precious little in between. Now their fourth album, and first for Candlelight Records, Hexenhammer boasts CONAN’s Chris Fielding producing, as well as their history with Lee Dorian’s Rise Above Records, their connections give you some idea of what to expect.

And it doesn’t disappoint. Opening with the short instrumental Maleficus, it shows away from the usual acoustic or haunting intro and launches straight into some deep BLACK SABBATH worship, an interesting and fitting way to start the album. As this draws to a close, the feedback melts into the glorious and deceptively long eight minute title track, which drives along with with a huge groove laden hook and a nice switch of pace between the verses and chorus. A track which seems so simple, but builds up and works so well. The Devil’s Throne follows and keeps that groove going through another five minutes of striking old school metal.

That’s your main deal when it comes to the more uptempo material aside from little snippets here and there, as WITCHSORROW settle down in pace and brings out the colder and bleaker material. Demons of the Mind and Eternal both feature hypnotic rhythms that gradually bring you down from the more catchy fare earlier on the album. They then ramp up the bleakness with The Parish which again is amazingly simple but powerfully effective. This all leads to the the monolithic closer Like Sisyphus. The longest track on the album at eight and a half minutes, but again deceptively long as it draws you deeper into their web. Considering most of the songs are over five or six minutes, Hexenhammer really doesn’t feel that long and before long it’s over. From the second time you listen though, it become really familiar and like it last been around for years.

Hexenhammer is an album that could have been released at any point over the last twenty five years and gutted in perfectly well with what was going on at the time. It’s got a really recognisable sound and this is helped hugely by the vocals of Necroskull, who at time channels former label boss Lee Dorrian (CATHEDRAL, NAPALM DEATH) with those harsh yet legible tones. A solid slab of doom with no gimmicks and no pretence, just great tunes.

Rating: 9/10

Hexenhammer is out now via Candlelight Records.

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