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Seven Witches return with their new effort featuring none other than displaced ex-Crimson Glory vocalist, Wade Black. Clearly, the separation of Black and Crimson Glory is the best thing that could have happened to both Black and the Witches. For me, the last Crimson Glory album was a horrible failure, but thats another topic for another time. Wade Black had almost no input into the songwriting on that album, and didnt do much singing on that album screaming is a more accurate word. Fortunately, Jack Frost allows Black to sing with his natural style on this album, unlike Jon Drenning who wanted Black to push the upper limits of his vocal range on nearly the entire Astronomica album. Black still reaches for the high notes on occasion, but he is very careful not to exceed his range and cause eardrums to shatter! In fact, I would day that he sounds very similar to Rob Halford when hitting the higher octaves. Blacks joining of the Witches makes the band a hell of a lot stronger, and Black proves that he can indeed sing very well something that many would have doubted after hearing the Astronmica album
This latest Seven Witches album brings nothing new to the metal scene, but it is a forty five minute ride of pure head banging bliss. This album is much more varied than the previous one, reminding me of a more powerful Painkiller era Judas Priest in many spots, but also showing flashes of Puppets era Metallica, Sanctuary, and even a bit of Overkill as well. Keeping this album at full throttle, Brain Craig (Destinys End) shows some serious power on the drums. Billy Mez fills out the other half of the rhythm section to provide a start to finish wall of sound that gives the album a much heavier sound than what I expected. The percussion is surely a highlight of this album as it is ferociously fast in spots really giving the sound a hard kick in the ass. One notable variation in the sound is the track Warmth of Winter, which has a very dark, but heavy feel to it in the vein of Born Again era Black Sabbath. Jon Oliva of Savatage makes a guest appearance on The Burning which is a straight in your face power metal cut. Joe Comeau of Annihilator (ex-Liege Lord, ex- Overkill) pitches in his vocal efforts with Wade Black in the Grim Reaper cover See You In Hell. It is nice to hear this tune with a bit of extra power and production much superior to what Grim Reaper accomplished on their low budget back in the mid 1980s. I can also say that the guitar solos are much improved and more prevalent on this album, and the riffs are chunky in spots, but more driving and powerful in others. The songs are distinguishable from each other, more so than in the past which makes the album a much more interesting listen.
For anyone who is skeptical of buying this album after hearing Wade Black with Crimson Glory, you need to give this album a chance. He has completely redeemed himself on this album and truly shows his capabilities here with an impressive range and control. Fans of the aforementioned bands are sure to be pleased with this latest effort of Seven Witches. From the darker side of things ala Black Sabbath to speedy double bass driven power metal cuts, this album certainly is more interesting and has quite a bit more to offer than previous efforts. It seems that the chemistry of the band is just right with this new lineup and the future is sure looking bright for the guys considering their noteworthy improvement over their last album. |
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Killing Songs : Metal Tyrant, Salvation, Eyes of an Angel, The Burning |
Mike quoted 85 / 100 | ||||||||||||
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