Review by Richard Henry for MPM
Back with their sixth studio album, Burning Witches are back with a new album in their tenth anniversary year, which is pretty good going, founding guitarist Romana Kalkhuhl guiding the band, well I know I am about to get a blast of classic heavy metal so let’s dive in!
Pre-order Inquisition here: https://napalmrecords.com/burning-witches
Sanguini Hominum
Chanting male vocals come in for this, then the band comes in with the chanting in a very military fashion, then come in the harmony guitars to add to the layers, it’s very soundtrack in feel, then a little blast of a harmony guitar as the intro finishes, is this to come in the next track??
Soul Eater
No is the answer, that’s a heavy start, now from the off, this reminds me of Iced Earth, if someone played me this and said it was them, I would believe them, it has a lot of heft to that sound, nice doubled vocal, the main and the high, the a tempo change into the chorus with the double bass driving the riff and the really abrasive vocals from Laura, Courtney comes in with a short solo, which one complaint needs to be up in the mix, it’s a bit buried in there, nice change in the second chorus to a half-time feel, before the whole thing changes to a harmony rhythm guitar and a lower vocal before the main solo comes in, again its seems to be ok in the higher notes but lower down it gets swallowed in the mix, good opener!
Shame
Driving rhythm guitar opens this with a little melodic guitar figure along before the drums start pounding, this is a slower mid-tempo number, just dives along, the vocals more mid-range that the first song, when you hit the pre chorus it opens up a bit more before the chorus hits you with a much heavier double bass section, almost more thrash metal than anything this one especially that chorus, nice solos comes in, some really nice phrasing from Courtney that falls into a harmony guitar section that takes us between the solo section and then back into the driving double bass of the chorus!
The Spell of the Skull
Straight off again it’s like a thrashy Testament that sort of guitar and harmony part before the drums drive in and it gets a bit heavy metal in nature, and this one sort of stays in the 6/8 groove in the verse, very Maiden in feel, great doubled vocal in the chorus section, love the addition of the little harmony guitar parts that are sort of in the outside of the mix, the vocals are sort of the star of the show, great warmth and feel in the vocal in the lower ranges and then rising up to the chorus and adding a bit more power and grit, great job from Laura, then a lovely half time part in the middle section, a more restrained start to the solo, focusing more on the melody with little flourishes and then the second half we get a bit more shredding, now if you listen closely the solo sort of keeps going under the verse before we ascend back into that chorus again, good track!
Inquisition
Again, I think it’s the mix, it’s quite hard to hear that guitar melody until the second higher one comes in, this one drives like a mix of Helloween and Gamma Ray, and when the vocals come in, they are right in that Ralph Scheepers range, that riff is just solid and driving as are the drums, the vocals again are sort of the star, then a great change into a pre chorus riff and another great tempo change into the chorus, really good songwriting on this one with all the transitions, nice mid-tempo shouting out the title of the song before a male choir comes into add to it, then a slow middle section, before the solo starts to creep in, again the rhythm guitars are louder than the solos, they just aren’t creeping through the mix which is a bit disappointing!
High Priestess of the Night
That riff reminds me of early Dio, and when the band slip in as well, it totally is that vibe for me, nice little low harmony along with the riff, the vocals are a lot lower and gritty, and the song just drives along, nice little change into the pre chorus as its all building up, then the track really opens up and drives along into the chorus and the vocals are stratospheric, lovely the way they built that whole track up from the pre chorus into the chorus and then out into the intro riff groove again, that’s a great solo, again loads of melody and flair in there, then second half there is a bit more on display but still keeping melody, before slipping back into that soaring chorus!
Burn in Hell
Almost like an early Vicious Rumors sort of vibe to this as it kicks off, that is one high scream that comes in from low to high, before the double kicks come in and then a little sweeping solo, before the verse comes in, it’s really nice to hear the lower range over this heavy double kick riff, before it changes feel for the chorus and the vocals then have the chance to really climb up in range, some great harmonies in there as well, nice transition into a more mid-tempo grinding sort of riff in the middle of the song, and half time again for the solo to come in, before the second half it picks up in tempo and the double kicks come in, the a really nice melodic figure into the chorus again!
Release Me
Clean guitars come in for this, holding down a melodic figure amongst the chord work, before the band come in with a slow beat and a harmony guitar to follow the clean guitars, a very delicate vocal from Laura and some nice low harmonies in there, then the second half she lifts the vocal up a bit and it really adds to it, you can feel it building it up into the pre chorus, and then when the chorus hits there is a lot more range in the vocal and a nice amount of grit, that adds to the emotion of the chorus, the solo soars in, very slow and deliberate and relying on the melody to carry it rather than pyrotechnics, great choice right there, would be very easy to shred over that but that was the right solo for the song, that last chorus there are some really high screamed notes in there that really add to the last chorus, excellent song!
In for the Kill
That rhythm guitar and the melody over the top and then the floor tom hits, again massively reminds me of Iced Earth, then an absolute slab of a riff comes in for the next part, then then tempo ramps up a bit, love the vocal, really aggressive and low down and some nice tempo changes in the verse, a more thrashy pre chorus section where the vocals and lead guitars trade off, before the vocals get stratospheric for the chorus section, that half time middle just grinds along, then the harmony guitars add to the riff in this part, this is a properly heavy p[art before the solo comes in, lots of trem bar work in there, more an effect solo I suppose like a Kerry King part, vocals and then part two of the solo where there is a bit more melody before hitting the last chorus, nice tempo change in there as well!
In the Eye of the Storm
Thats an epic opening, with the harmony guitars at the front over the drum and guitar stabs to open this one up, then you have a little break, now I thought it was going to go fast, but no, a slow heavy verse comes in, it just drives along and has all the heft to it, the vocals again in the lower more aggressive range, then a nice change into a tom groove for the pre chorus before we get catapulted along into the chorus where the vocals layer and get higher, the whole build up was excellent, that’s almost a Chuck Berry start to the solo before it builds up, I loved the second half of it where it just went to a melody for 4 bars before hitting part two of the solo where there was a bit more shred, now again when they double the fast guitar part it gets muddy, great chorus though, another belter of a track!
Mirror Mirror
Aggressive as all hell from the start, the double bass and the piercing guitar scream over the grinding riff, love the choice to let the bass carry that verse with the guitars coming in half the tome then second half of the verse the guitars come in all the way through, great arrangement, and then into a lovely pre-chorus section before you hit the chorus and the vocals again have climbed all the way up in range in this one from the verse to the chorus, love that middle section with the double bass and the riff on one side and a sliding guitar figure on the other, before it opens up to the vocals and then changes to a thrashier feel for the solo, lots of counterpoint licks that remind me of Arch Enemy, something Courtney has done a lot on the solos, again back into that great chorus with some really nice punctuated high screams, very thrash double bass ending to this one, then the guitar harmony comes in over it, nice tapping part right at the end, again reminds me of Amott!
Malus Maga
Heavy synth and dissonant guitar comes in, with bass and drum stabs with a creepy spoken vocal over it, then it changes to something like the intro with the vocal layers, and a sort of violin part then comes in, nice way to open and close the album and give it symmetry!
8 out of 10
It’s a good album, the songs are probably more on the Iced Earth thrash sort of side of power metal, some really nice arrangements in there as well building the tracks, the star of the show is without doubt Laura on the vocals, the only thing is at times the mix lets the album down with the lead guitars, that probably the only thing letting it down, but if you love your power metal its defeinately worth checking out!
Burning Witches are:
Romana Kalkuhl – Guitar
Laura Guldemond – Vocals
Courtney Cox – Guitar
Jay Grob – Bass
Lala Frischknecht – Drums
Burning Witches online:
https://www.facebook.com/burningwitches666
https://twitter.com/burningwitches_
https://www.instagram.com/burningwitchesofficial
https://www.burningwitches.ch
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuba8pbIQpqiM58ULyQczzw
https://www.tiktok.com/@burningwitches1
