Deathwytch - Death Wytch

Deathwytch is a rather mysterious band based in the U.S. with a mix of U.S. and German members. Signed to Moribund Records who is known for their fair share of ‘old school’ Black and Death Metal along with some Heavy Metal/ Thrash bands and Atmospheric Black Metal artists, Deathwytch holds a special place in being more along the Avant-Garde Black Metal realm. Touching alongside fellow artists on the label from Xasthur to Leviathan to The Projectionist to Lord Matzigkeitus, the band cobbles together elements of Depressive Atmospheric Black to Lounge to Halloween soundtrack for a wild, if unsettling ride. Those who have heard the likes of Vardan or early Xasthur know that unsettling, yet attractive feeling as this five piece delivers a near hour soundtrack that would be fitting for the movie The Witch itself.

While this album is rather slow burn in the way it twists and turns along (don’t expect any 1349 hellblazer tracks here), it does a great job at alternating between the typical Black Metal parts along with the quiet, atmospheric ones. While lots of Black Metal bands tend to deliver icy tremolo pickings among a ton of distortion and a smattering of shrieks and drums, Deathwytch rely a lot on drums (provided by Shadowbeat) and violin (by Eris Ember) and organ (by Orpheus who also performs the guitars) to deliver the meat and potatoes of the music. Tracks like ‘The Awakening’ is more your Xasthur type drenched in reverb harsh tunes that whine along with slow simple percussive drums and buried bass that keeps a rather repetitive tone, but then can switch things up with a nearly jazzy solo before falling back into form. The vocals are sometimes buried but that is because vocalist Dragana has a special voice. Not the typical Black Metal shriek or snarl, she almost whisper hisses like a witch casting an incantation, and while it takes some getting used to, her voice really shines on some of the later tracks. While the bass from Perish is a bit hard to hear over the guitars, when the Halloween styled organ comes in alone the bass is much more audible and keeps that whole Haunted Mansion horror vibe going when the vocals just hiss their way along, like nails on a chalkboard but in the unsettling style, not the annoying.

Other tracks like ‘The Allurement’ showcase the more atmospheric lounge side of the band as well as Avant-Garde Metal touches. Almost devoid of guitar, the organ and violin and drums have the main focus with the vocals which tend to reach almost near hysterics at times. It touches nearly on Igorrr haphazardness who is known for going from Baroque to Industrial to Black Metal very randomly, and compared to a lot of Deathwytch’s work here, this track stands out as one of the better atmospheric ones, like that random haunting yet impressive Leviathan piece that one cannot get out of their head. For those who like their Avant- Garde and Black Metal rolled into one, ‘The Huntress’ is more a better balance of violin and vocals which are a bit more in front than the guitars and drums but still cohesively work together. If there is one complaint listeners might have about the album it is the balancing as some tracks seem ‘louder’ in some aspects than others, but overall that atmosphere works to keep the music ‘edge of your seat but easy listening.’

This type of Black Metal certainly isn’t for everyone. Those who like their Black n’ Roll like Satyricon to bob their head to or want the visceral edge of harsher bands like Nadiwrath that just blaze with riffs and distortion and hate will probably find this a bit boring. But those who like the twisted elements of that like Gnaw Their Tongues with its loud and soft moments or even the likes of mid era Leviathan or I Shalt Become will really appreciate the beauty of Deathwytch in its spooky manner. Always interesting but never boring, this will worm its way in your head and stick with your nightmares long after you’ve finished listening. Hopefully we continue to get more ‘witchy’ music from this enigmatic band in the future.

4 / 5 STARS