Sweden's Witchery offer up their fourth release Don't Fear the Reaper, another solid tribute to 80's thrash and modern melodic death metal. Somewhat of a supergroup, Witchery is comprised of The Haunted's Patrick Jensen on guitars, Arch Enemy's Sharlee D'Angelo on bass, vocalist Toxine, guitar player Richard Corpse, and drummer Martin Axenrot. The band took five years to put this one together after the release of the popular Symphony for the Devil, but the wait was well worth it. Don't Fear the Reaper is filled with plenty of metal crunch, intricate arrangements, catchy melodies, and effective vocal growls. Guitar wise, the band fires off plenty of heavy riffs and meaty, technical solos, much like bands such as Arch Enemy and Mercyful Fate. As for individual songs, take your pick, they are all pretty good and instantly memorable, like the grinding thrash of "The Ritual", the growling death metal of "Stigmatized", or the symphonic black/death metal heard on "Ashes". Intense guitar grooves meet up with manic blast beats on the aptly titled "Crossfixation", while the instrumental "The Wait Of The Pyramids" sees plenty of fiery lead guitar work from Jensen and Corpse. My favorite track though is definitely the complex prog-metal piece "Styx", complete with galloping rhythms and huge guitar riffs, not to mention Toxine's evil vocals.
Don't Fear the Reaper is not just one of Witchcraft's best albums, but it's a release that is sure to gain the band an even stronger following among fans of melodic thrash and death metal. Check it out.
Track Listing
1. Disturbing The Beast
2. Stigmatized
3. Draw Blood
4. The Ritual
5. Ashes
6. Plague Rider
7. Damned In Hell
8. Crossfixation
9. The Wait Of The Pyramids
10. Immortal Death
11. Styx
12. War Piece
13. Cannonfodder
14. Into The Catacombs
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