ALBUM REVIEW: Nightside – Witchery

It is good to see bands from the past still produce high quality work. For those who enjoy the older melodeath savagery of ARCH ENEMY or the grimey death metal of OBITUARY, then you might need to get a dose of Swedish infernal metallers WITCHERY in your veins. Having sustained a career over 30 years, the band have finally taken a plunge and released the first ever concept album Nightside, a record with a central story built around the protagonist’s journey into witchcraft, and the religious persecution that they face as a result.

There is a lot to like here for the lover of the riff. WITCHERY have that archetypal Swedish sound and style to their riffing that sounds unrelenting and full of vim and vigour, giving the impression that they are much younger than they are. Opening number and lead single Witching Hour powers into the speakers with an enviable rawness, introducing us to Nightside with appropriate aplomb. The ever so slightly blues tinged guitar musings of Don’t Burn The Witch showcase founding brothers Jensen and Rickard Rimfält’s guitar hero skills, with the occasional melodic nod towards the frostier tones of black metal. A particular highlight is the speed and crush of the rather brilliantly titled Popecrusher, which is a circle pit inducing anthem that would tempt in even the most sedate of Pontiffs.

WITCHERY don’t hang around at all throughout this record. There is an energy that taps into that inner headbanger which many bands just can’t do, and it is impressive that the band can do this after such a long career as well. The Rimfält brothers at the centre of the group are clearly having a lot of fun writing and performing, which comes across in their playing. Look no further than the highlight of the record which comes in the form of penultimate track Forest Of Burning Coffins, which as imagery goes is about as metal as it gets. It’s under three minutes of razor sharp riffing, wailing shred and pummelling drums, and features a vocal performance from CARCASS‘ Jeff Walker, which just lifts the song energy wise to a higher place.

This is a fun little record for those of us who like their metal razor sharp and energetic. Whilst it is not going to set the world on fire from a creative stand point and the conceptual narrative of the record is somewhat lost, it does not detract from the fun that WITCHERY are clearly having by just being able to create music in a style that they so obviously love.

Rating: 7/10

Nightside is out now via Century Media Records.

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