ALBUM REVIEW: The Witch Of The North – Burning Witches

Snowy locations seem to inspire the best metal bands, especially with their lyrics. Whether the cold temperatures motivate the musicians to move around to help warm themselves, it certainly assists with creating amazing music, including fiery riffs and grand lyrics. Swiss band BURNING WITCHES aren’t exempt from this, especially with their fourth album, The Witch Of The North. After three great releases showcasing their brilliant take on power metal, there’s a lot of hype over this fourth effort of theirs. Does this album live up to that standard and elevate the band’s sound? 

That and more! It’s a truly epic record that takes on the folk stories and elements and mixes it with that heavy and harsh sound to create something mystical and unique. A great example of this is how the first two tracks, Winter’s Wrath and The Witch Of The North, flow into each other, from a great folk and eerie beginning with simple instrumentation, to a grand power metal staple with epic lyrics telling a mystical and interesting story that engages the listener immediately.

The track layout is planned very well, like it’s an overarching quest that the listener journeys on, with interesting twists and turns at every minute. Musical elements, like guitar slides and solos, punching bass lines, fierce drum rhythms, and beautifully screaming vocals, are all on display and shows how talented the group are. This is evident in songs like Tainted Ritual, The Circle Of Fire, Thrall and Dragon’s Dream, showing that fiery writing and intricate detailing within the music.

This talent is also shown in the lyric writing, telling fantastic tales worthy to be heard on a Dungeons & Dragons quest, or whilst travelling around Skyrim. Whether fast paced like an epic story, or soft and delicate, the lyrics help elevate what the music has laid out in these tracks to make it something amazing within the whole album. Songs like We Stand As One, Lady Of The Woods, For Eternity and Eternal Frost showcase this excellence in storytelling and poetry, and combining it with the music creates some amazing songs for an epic album that many should hear.

Overall, The Witch Of The North is a fantastic record of epic proportions. Brilliant work in every element, even the bonus track at the end of the album, a cover of Hall Of The Mountain King, fits within the mood of the album and is very well done. The album is beautiful to listen to again and again, no matter what time of day, and only the best should come to BURNING WITCHES. This awesome fivesome are worth fighting for!

Rating: 9/10

The Witch Of The North is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.

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