WITCHERY
Don’t Fear The Reaper
Century Media
· No Blue Oyster tribute here, just straight-up Scandinavian thrash.
After Swedish shredders Satanic Slaughter called it quits in ’97, the members that were still on speaking terms joined up with personnel from fellow metal merchants The Haunted, Arch Enemy and Mercyful Fate to form Witchery. Where their four previous albums combined blinding fretwork with machine-gun drumming and a rarely-relenting breakneck pace, Don’t Fear The Reaper sees the group throttling down a bit to explore the possibilities of melodic death metal.
Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work that well. The first half of the album proves that Witchery are more than just a one-trick pony, but the way the band has chosen to illustrate the fact just isn’t all that interesting. "Stigmatized," "Draw Blood" and "The Ritual" are more than capable at chugging along in their own sweet time, but are ultimately forgettable – metal from a vein of ore that was strip-mined long ago.
The best tracks are the ones that stick to the frenetic speed metal that the band members built their careers on – particularly "Plague Rider," a Motorhead-esque locomotive thrasher built on little more than palm muting, "Immortal Death," a blistering typhoon that wreaks havoc and vanishes without a trace in under two minutes, and closer "Cannon Fodder," which recalls the best moments of early Metallica and Slayer.
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