Fans of acts such as Iced Earth, Blind Guardian, Beyond Fear, Jag Panzer, and Manticora should have a good time with Hand of Justice, the sophomore release from Poland's Witchking. This five piece are quite good at churning out dark & dramatic power metal, with just the slightest touch of thrash, that fully features the histrionic vocals of Tomasz Twardowski. Sounding at times like a combination of Tim 'Ripper' Owens and Hansi Kursch, his high pitched wailings soar over heavy riffs, twin leads, and pounding rhythms.
Tunes such as "Magic Number", "The Third One", and "Choice of Masters" rock pretty damn hard, beefy riffs crushing with serious intent, and although the arrangements are not overly technical, there is a flashiness to the guitar solos here and some of the drum work is quite impressive. Twardowski's vocals are going to be a 'love it or leave it' with some listeners-this guy can really hit those high notes, and sometimes he's trying just a little too hard and he overshadows the rest of the band. When he settles in and does his part and let's the music flow, things go rather smoothly, as on the melodic ripper "Planet is Burning", the juggernaut "M Impact", the absolutely pounding "Magic Number", and the surging, groove laden "Metal Grail".
So, if crunchy, well played power metal with over-the-top vocals is your thing, you can't go wrong with Hand of Justice. It's quite the professional looking package, with stunning artwork from Xaay & Tomasz Pater adorning the cover and booklet. Lyrically this band needs a little work, and they might want to temper the vocals just a hair, but Witchking have boatloads of talent, and essentially this new CD is quite enjoyable, which in the end is all that really matters.
Track Listing
1. Intro 01:04
2. Magic Number 04:01
3. Greed and Fear 04:44
4. Hand of Justice 03:55
5. The Third One 04:58
6. Planet is Burning 05:05
7. Choice of Masters 04:48
8. M Impact 05:34
9. Mental Trap 04:14
10. Metal Grail 04:31
11. Doomsday 04:15
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