Witchery must be considered a supergroup as they have had and still have some of the best from the Swedish metal scene. “Nightside” is the band’s eight records, so they have been doing this for a while now. New since last time, which means “I Am Legion” from 2017, is that bassist Sharlee D’Angelo is out of the band and in comes Victor Brandt, whom we know from bands like Dimmu Borgir and Entombed. Not a bad replacement when you once have to lose a prominent musician like D’Angelo.
This time, Witchery is trying their hand at a concept album about witches and witch burning. A common theme for Witchery – but now with a coherent story throughout the entire album. The lyrics are not included with the promo copy I received, so I cannot delve further into the story – but from what little I can gather from Angus Norder’s growling, it sounds promising. It gets even more fun when Jeff Walker from Carcass lends his voice in “A Forest of Burning Coffins”. Additionally, we get guest guitar work from Hank Shermann from Mercyful Fate, Simon Johansson from Wolf, and Maciek Ofstad from Kvelertak. Thus, Witchery has created a very good album, and I think Witchery is one of those rare bands that only get better with age. “Nightside” is perhaps the band’s best, in fact.
Released July 22nd, 2022 on Century Media Records.
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