Artist: Witchcraft
Country: Finland
Label: Nuclear War Now! Productions
Formats: LP
Year: 2023
In the wake of bands like Blasphemy, Beherit, early Impaled Nazarene, Archgoat, Profanatica and the likes came a quite a loyal following of both fans and bands alike that admired the sonic violence of these bands. The scene might be small, but is still very much alike, we did not only see new “classic” acts such as Sadomator or Proclamation pop up, but even in the last year we were able to welcome a considerable amount of newcomers to the front. All of them trying to get as close as possible to the authentic war mongering sound of the early ancestors, the true originators of that primitive and savage sound. Yet, only a few bands are really able to really creep up close to the Masters of what is commonly referred to as “Bestial Black Metal”, one of them certainly is Witchcraft.
On this vinyl-only compilation the band brings together previously unreleased rehearsal tracks recorded between 2015 and 2018. The 14 tracks, totalling nearly 45 minutes, give a rather effective cross section of what Witchcraft is all about. While these are indeed rehearsal recordings, with matching sound quality, it does fit perfectly to the musical heritage of the band so far. Most of the recordings that the band spawned in about the decade of their existence are more or less in the same line. Apart from some recordings that were used for some split releases, all of the recorded material was eventually released as a demo or rehearsal tape. That being said, it can’t be an excuse to claim that these tracks do sound too rough or too crude, that is the exact essence of Witchcraft.
And not only their essence, also their charisma. It is that exact rehearsal sound that makes Witchcraft stand out of the their peers. For sure, the trio that makes up Witchcraft certainly know their game when it comes to this niche in Black Metal, it is embedded in their collective DNA’s, yet it is the combination of the musical value and the sonic presentation of it.
The 14 tracks comprise four rehearsal sessions, successively ‘Necro Molestation Rehearsal’ (2015), ‘Nightmare Goetia Rehearsal’ (2018), ‘Unreleased Demo Tracks’ (2016) and ‘Walpurgisatanacht Rehearsal’ (2016). Obviously, the level of sound quality is different for each session, but the fact that the variations are so minimal says something about the high standard and sheer dedication shown by the band. With this compilation LP fanatics finally have something new to get their hands on, as many of the band’s releases are rather limited and hard to get, and apart from some split releases, also appeared mainly on cassette tapes. Needless to say, this is mandatory stuff for anyone who shares a knack for Bestial Black Metal.
