Ten years for King Witch!
Formed in Scotland in 2015, the band led by Laura Donnelly (vocals, formerly of Firebrand Super Rock), Jamie Gilchrist (guitar, formerly of Firebrand Super Rock), and Rory Lee (bass, Solar Sons) continues its journey with its long-time label, Listenable Records, for the release of its third album, simply titled III.
Drums are played by Andrew Scott.
Suffer in Life begins with rather disturbing sounds, followed by a heavy/doom-oriented mix that starts off slow and majestic but becomes more catchy when Laura adds her energetic vocals. The lead parts add a slightly more strident touch before Deal With The Devil develops a softer, more haunting approach that persists even when the saturation takes over again, and which is also found in the vocals. The harmonics are sometimes tinged with soothing elements, but the stoner influences carry us to Swarming Flies, which quickly becomes heavier, but also develops rather dissonant tones and mysterious flights of fancy that become piercing towards the end. We return to dark tones for Sea of Lies and its smoky riffs that fill the air while the vocalist delivers a powerful performance, allowing herself a few moments of calm in tune with the rhythm before the machine restarts until Behind the Veil’s soothing introduction. The title track serves as a power ballad, even drawing on blues and its soothing notes, but returning to intensity on the choruses before letting Diggin In The Dirt reconnect us with warm and solid heavy touches. The track is perfect for triggering headbanging sessions among hordes of fans, then Little Witch provides another intoxicatingly gentle interlude, followed by Last Great Wilderness, which brings the album to a close with a rich, oppressive sound that sometimes transforms into slow, soaring bursts of darkness for eight minutes that mark the culmination of their art.
Although the band has been relatively quiet in the studio in recent years, King Witch returns to celebrate its first decade in style with III, an inspired and highly varied album that highlights the musicians’ songwriting talent.
80/100
