A new spell for Bewitcher!
Three years after their last sorcery, A. Magus (bass/vocals), Mateo Von Bewitcher (guitar/vocals, ex-Dominus Morti) and A. Hunter (drums, Order of the Gash) unveil Spell Shock, in collaboration with Season of Mist.
The album kicks off with Starfire Maelstrom, which returns to the basics of lively, bloody Black/Thrash, with simple riffs so effective you’ll immediately start shaking your head. The band slows down to add a touch of technicality, but the speed soon returns to Lavish Desecration, where the sharp harmonics are out in full force, while the morbid vocal parts remain ferocious. The track remains energetic in all circumstances, as does Spell Shock, the eponymous title track, which is strengthened by backing vocals, while the raw rhythm rages on, adopting more melodious heavy accents. Violence takes over again, followed by Out Against the Law, which adopts a relatively similar, easy-listening approach with a few darker touches, but the sound becomes more piercing on Dystopic Demonolatry, spreading ever more polished leads to complete the ferocious basis. Musicians return at full speed with Seasons of Foul Harvest, a rather jerky composition on which the guitars unleash their best harmonics, injecting warm Hard Rock accents. The band picks up the pace for the final, then returns to moderate speed for We Die in Dust, but the rhythms once again ignite to make the mix much more dynamic before falling back on The Harem Conspiracy, which offers us a very brief moment of respite with its introduction. The quietude doesn’t last, of course, as the trio picks up the pace again throughout the track, leaving Pagan Shadows to serve as a soothing instrumental interlude before tackling Ride of the Ironfox, a final composition in two parts, the first quite savage where the aggressive base does its job in the company of growls, then a second, more accessible instrumental that eventually disappears to let dark noises close this chapter.
Bewitcher‘s influences are ever more varied. Spell Shock doesn’t just stick to its raw Black/Thrash Metal touches, you can feel the trio not hesitating to look to Heavy Metal for its frenzied leads, making the mix more accessible.
80/100