{"id":70212,"date":"2018-06-29T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2018-06-29T00:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=70212"},"modified":"2018-06-30T17:21:52","modified_gmt":"2018-06-30T17:21:52","slug":"album-review-stormwitch-bound-to-the-witch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-stormwitch-bound-to-the-witch\/","title":{"rendered":"STORMWITCH – Bound To The Witch (2018) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

STORMWITCH
Bound To The Witch<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nMassacre (2018)<\/span>
Rating: 6.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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As soon as the dark, chugging riff of opener \u2018Songs Of Steel\u2019 starts, I\u2019m drawn into this latest Stormwitch offering; this being the 11th full-length opus from this well-regarded German metal act who released their first outing way back in the murky mid-80s.<\/p>\n

Like a lot of heavy metal bands Stormwitch couldn\u2019t survive the 90s, but thankfully reformed back in 2002 and still feature two original members in vocalist Andy M\u00fcck and bassist J\u00fcrgen Wannenwetsch. The duo are joined by recent axe additions Volker Schmietow and Tobias Kipp, while drummer Marc Oppold rejoins after his initial stint between 2002 and 2005.<\/p>\n

Make no mistake, Bound To The Witch<\/em> is a heavy record; the chunky riffage is the theme throughout as the combo conjure up Goth-tinged slabs of anthemic power metal. Admittedly the vocals are a tad shaky at times and are pretty much overshadowed by the music, with both \u2018Songs Of Steel\u2019 and \u2018Odin\u2019s Ravens\u2019 bolstered mightily by that sturdy guitar tone. The former is more of a slow, mid-tempo groove, while the latter has a tastier, aggressive edge, but as powerful heavy metal goes the vocals seem severely lacking.<\/p>\n

The vocals do improve for the more subtle strains of \u2018Nightingale\u2019, which is a classy, simmering ballad of fine acoustic arrangements. However, for the most part this is a record bordering on power metal from the racing \u2018The Choir Of The Dead\u2019 with its tumbling percussion, to the groove-based melodies of the titanic title track, the mid-paced energy of \u2018Arya\u2019 and the epic feel of namesake song \u2018Stormwitch\u2019.<\/p>\n

The posse basically takes classic 80s metal and successfully coats it in a contemporary gloss, although at times elements of cheesiness creep in with rather dodgy historical lessons such as \u2018King George\u2019 and \u2018Ancient Times\u2019, the latter being the better of the two if only for its stabbing chug. But that\u2019s the thing with power metal, especially of a European design \u2013 at times bands do tend to apply too much of a Teutonic shine and with too much emphasis on lyrical content of a corny nature that veers into tales of battles and more regal affairs. But as I say, musically this is a stable record. However, I just feel that Andy M\u00fcck\u2019s vocals just seem to struggle to match the powerful, pulsating rhythms.<\/p>\n

Of all the tracks on offer, the only one I find all too much of a dull thud is \u2018The Ghost Of Mansfield Park\u2019. Lyrically it\u2019s poor, musically it\u2019s standard and there\u2019s not an air of the spectral about it. Indeed, after hearing the debut opus from Sweden\u2019s Candle (The Keeper\u2019s Curse<\/em><\/a>), it seems so many other bands, however well-regarded, seem to pale in comparison with their storytelling.<\/p>\n

The digipak CD version of Stormwitch\u2019s latest opus also contains three bonus tunes; \u2018Stronger Than Heaven\u2019 features a nice mid-tempo nod, \u2018Rats In The Attic\u2019 provides extra fizz and pace, while \u2018Priest Of Evil\u2019 is an infectious trudge.<\/p>\n

So what you basically get here is a reliable slab of powerful Euro-metal that should please old and new fans. Although limited in its structure, Bound To The Witch<\/em> remains a familiar, comforting and rather harmless experience.<\/p>\n

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

STORMWITCHBound To The Witch Massacre (2018)Rating: 6.5\/10 As soon as the dark, chugging riff of opener \u2018Songs Of Steel\u2019 starts, I\u2019m drawn into this latest Stormwitch offering; this being the 11th full-length opus from this well-regarded German metal act who released their first outing way back in the murky mid-80s. Like a lot of heavy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1644],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-stormwitch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70212","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=70212"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70213,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70212\/revisions\/70213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}