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Band: Wormwitch
Album title: Strike Mortal Soil
Release date: 12 May 2017
Label: Prosthetic Records
Tracklist:
01. As Above
02. Howling From The Grave
03. Weregild
04. Even the Sun Will Die
05. Relentless Death
06. Cerulean Abyss
07. Everlasting Lie
08. ...And Smote His Ruin Upon The Mountainside
09. Mantle Of Ignorance
10. So Below
“I stand on the precipice. And I leave my body to wash away in the current of time. Pour your wisdom into me. Repent into me. And prepare for total annihilation.”
This is the kind of fusion I really like! Punk/hardcore, dirty rock, old-school thrash metal, a bit of doom and of course mainly black metal. With strong roots in hardcore scene, Vancouver's Wormwitch released an album that will not serve for those who cannot get up from the past or for those who do not mind listening to bands that mimic the true masters of black metal. This is a different kind of presentation, I could say that it is quite original. Speed is what I like the most in the whole album. The thematics surprised and pleased me as well. Yet Wormwitch are not only annihilating the listener with disgrace, they are also giving him a way out. In that respect Wormwitch differ from majority of black and extreme metal bands.
No matter where you were born, no matter of your beliefs or your nationality, everything that matters is how you push yourself in the pursuit of what you want. We are not born with inner strength, we gain strength during life and with all of the bad that it offers to us. We live in a completely sick society, obsessed with futility and terrified of death. Wormwitch's message is clear, our life is worth it! Strike Mortal Soil means, live with a furious passion, live life intensely.
On the tracks, well, they are very pleasant to listen to, often during my listening I wanted to bang my head and do pogo as a punk, and with these guys I can! The vocals are throughout fierce, aggressive, sometimes cold and very attractive to me. The band offers many moments of blackened rock'n'roll and more fast and prominent hardcore beats, but wait a bit, this is still black metal, no doubt about it, and it lasts for 40 minutes, you doubt? So, swallow your biased words, from a quick vision, start in "Weregild", more precisely at 3:15, a beautiful guitar riff is placed there. With “Even The Sun Will Die”, learn what means to play intriguing black metal, in a way progressive and stop to talk shit. Amazing track! "...And Smote His Ruin Upon The Mountainside” is a classic metal rock, I like when the instruments crash one with another. “Mantle Of Ignorance” is another tasteful track, very satisfying, intense, raged straight-faced black metal, while "Relentless Death" is pretty much influenced by Motörhead.
The more epic and emotive tracks are quite good as well, sometimes can cause a bit of emotional discomfort, because I was expecting only speed and addictive songs, but this doesn't steal the merit. Nice shredding by Colby Hink in "Howling From The Grave", by the way, I love you sweetheart, your performance in the whole album makes me fall in love. The band has a similar way of playing as Black Anvil and reminded me a bit of the night hunters Endezzma. What makes me mention these two bands is similarity in speed, rage and passion. Don't worry Wormwitch with old-fashioned, shallow and unfounded comments, those who point only to errors and edges, without mentioning why, or at least suggesting something constructive, are incapable, they don’t know how to analyze an album.
This is after all just the beginning for Wormwitch, They could have stay with this merger or even pick black metal without the hardcore insanity, but hey, I really like this album. With all the passion that these guys had presented to me with Strike Mortal Soil, I am sure that will come more and more high-quality albums. Continue the excelent work and fuck the fuckers!
Review written by: Felin Frost
Rating: 8/10
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