Bewitcher - Bewitcher (2016)

Seriously, what is with these electronic introductions to classic albums? Is metal changing over to wave music or something? I love both, but I find it quite odd that such a produced electronic wave would accompany such a rough and rowdy approach as is offered by this official debut from these US black/speed metallers. They're from Oregon – Portland, to be exact – but that's no reason for me to start throwing hipster jokes because of the wave introduction to the album. Right? Basically, we've got a Motorhead and Venom inspired act that you might also compare to bands like Midnight, Sodom, Toxic Holocaust, Power From Hell, Joel Grind and several others in this vein. There's no doubting the Motorhead here, which was just influential to Bewitcher as it was to Venom when they first started this stuff and called it “black metal” back in the eighties. The approach here isn't very different, but it's certainly a solid record that delivers a no-frills approach to black/speed metal. Guitarist/Frontman Unholy Weaver has been studying his early Motorhead records quite furiously, as I'm hearing quite a bit of that here, and I have no problem with it. It's more or less just classic heavy metal with a harsher bark than what Lemmy gave us and there's nothing wrong with that. Occasionally Diabolic Crusher will punch the kit into higher gear, showing off that more extreme “black metal” side, but I'm a bit more interested in the overall guitar-theatrics of the performance. It's all about the chugging atmosphere here, casting the lyrics aside as unimportant. I like this disc for the attention to detail, regardless of how some might say that these guys are kind of ripping off the classics. But can you blame kids these days? Some won't even listen to the greats because they've been somehow convinced that they're too old and dated, so we need bands like Bewitcher to come out with new records and take this new generation by storm. If you won't listen to the old shit, then here's some old shit repackaged as new shit. There ya go, embrace metal in 2016. Forty years and still going strong, metal is only further accentuated in it's awesomeness by bands like Bewitcher who we hope to hear for many years to come.

(9 Tracks, 33:00)

7/10

Rapid Terror - Speed Metal Bastard (2016)

This Swedish two-man project was formed by a member of Runemagic, Heavydeath, Necrocurse and others who simply goes by the name Terror. Along with bassist Basstard, the two play a very stripped down style of blackened speed metal that comes without a hitch. It sounds warm, but not like an inferno, still sounding like it needs just a bit of work. The guitars are audible, the drums are stable and the vocal performance is quite ravenous, just as we might expect. There are some good riffs here and there and overall it seems like a pretty good demonstration of what these guys can do. It's pretty short and not an absolute must, but you'll like it if you dig the whole black/speed scene and similar acts. It's short, sweet and to the point. You're getting under twenty minutes of a performance that pulls no punches and literally is what it is. If you don't like black/thrash you won't like the disc, but if you do, it's worth checking out.

(4 Tracks, 15:00)

6/10

Gallower - Witch Hunt Is On (2016)

Poland's Gallower play blackened thrash, and they like little epic intros as well. Some might actually look at “Intro” and feel that it's two minutes they could have left off the album. This is a minor gripe, and I think some of the old heads are going to agree with me on this one – but don't you like it when you can just throw on a record and the metal starts right then and there? After the pomp, we finally get right into thick of it with “King Of The Ashes” which is a little rough, but that's what you want. Gallower sound like they recorded this in an underground bunker somewhere, but I know that you'd simply have it no other way. The drums hit hard, the riffs are audible and the vocals can get pretty fierce. Maybe the frontman isn't the best there is, but you really don't care when you listen to the act and hear that they have a definite kind of passion and firepower. It's not a long record, you can hear the Sarcofago a mile away and it more or less does it's job at being black thrash. Maybe these guys need a bit of work, but for right now, this it's pretty decent. At least you know what you're getting from a record that pulls no punches... well, except for that intro (which in listening to the rest of this record now, seems completely out of place.)

(7 Tracks, 22:00)

6/10