{"id":65642,"date":"2017-05-12T00:00:30","date_gmt":"2017-05-12T00:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=65642"},"modified":"2018-02-01T19:40:35","modified_gmt":"2018-02-01T19:40:35","slug":"album-review-witchcryer-cry-witch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-witchcryer-cry-witch\/","title":{"rendered":"WITCHCRYER – Cry Witch (2017) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

WITCHCRYER
Cry Witch<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nSelf-released (2017)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/td>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Witchcryer\u2019s debut opus is a rattling lump of doomy rock \u2018n\u2019 roll straight out of Austin, Texas. \u201cFemale fronted doom metal again?!\u201d<\/em> I hear you cry. Well, give this one a chance because this is more of a bare bones ride into black \u2018n\u2019 roll and based upon a sturdy foundation of Marilyn\u2019s rollicking bass, Javi Moctezuma\u2019s steady percussive drum beat, Jason Muxlow\u2019s driving guitar sound and Suzy Bravo\u2019s effortless banshee wail.<\/p>\n

But before you start thinking this is gonna be your, what has become, stereotypical female-fronted occult metal, what we actually get is a ballsy bar-room doom rock record nodding more to the likes of Saint Vitus, Candlemass, Count Raven, Witchfinder General and, of course, Black Sabbath<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cry Witch<\/em> is a rather simple record offering up nine tracks, one of which, \u2018Embryo (Instructions)\u2019, is a short instrumental and one being a decent cover of Witchfinder General\u2019s namesake song \u2018Witchfinder General\u2019.<\/p>\n

From opening title track, through to \u2018Ricochet\u2019 and the closer \u2018Lapis Philosophorum\u2019, we find ourselves immersed in a very rewarding, yet no frills opus full of catchy hooks and, above all, Suzy Bravo\u2019s rather simple yet effective soulful bark. There\u2019s no hint here of a band trying to be overly satanic or psychedelic, and that\u2019s probably how some of the best so-called \u201cdoom\u201d metal bands worked, by being themselves. And while the influences are there for all to hear, songs such as the aching \u2018The Preying Kind\u2019 provide a rather welcoming trudge away from the worrying trend of acts attempting to recreate Hammer Horror Gothicness. This is just stand-up doom rock.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been following these guys since 2016, and I just love the almost laid bare, stripped back pounding nature. There\u2019s nothing untoward to be suffocated by, just an all-round feeling of blackness yet, if possible, warmth amidst the lumbering guitar sound and percussive hisses.<\/p>\n

However, don\u2019t cast this off as your usual slow-motion doom metal affair, that opening title track is a cool, breezy head nodder, as is the groovier trudge of \u2018Ma Kali\u2019, which for some probably leans closer toward what some genre obsessives may deem \u201cstoner rock\u201d. But either way, it is a solid stomp to get the foot tapping and the crows at the window.<\/p>\n

\u2018Great Divide\u2019 is another impressive tune, a slow builder offering up Suzy Bravo\u2019s more haunting tone as she mourns, \u201cStanding still at the edge of me, blue boy and the deep dark sea, staring into the abyss of my keep. Golden noose tied around his neck, cursing tongues underneath his breath, fairly certain this will be his end here\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Again I\u2019m reminded of Candlemass in parts; maybe it\u2019s the simple melancholy as the guitars majestically flow? But it\u2019s not just a back-to-basics opus, Witchcryer aren\u2019t afraid to throw in a few curveballs when the time is right. Hints of melancholic psychedelia may drift in, and one can\u2019t help but warm (or jig) to the closing Lapis Philosophorum\u2019; a gorgeous ballad best enjoyed around a flickering fire in some vast, distant woodland. <\/p>\n

Cry Witch<\/em> really is an enjoyable heavy metal album. A gem in fact, and one that should not be overlooked amidst the glut of same-sounding ghouls.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WITCHCRYERCry Witch Self-released (2017)Rating: 8\/10 Witchcryer\u2019s debut opus is a rattling lump of doomy rock \u2018n\u2019 roll straight out of Austin, Texas. \u201cFemale fronted doom metal again?!\u201d I hear you cry. Well, give this one a chance because this is more of a bare bones ride into black \u2018n\u2019 roll and based upon a sturdy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,3828],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-witchcryer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65642"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65645,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65642\/revisions\/65645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}