Wormwitch/Sadistic Ritual/Boris Records/2024 Split Album Review

 

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Canada's  Wormwitch  and  U.S.A's  Sadistic  Ritual  which  will  be  released  on  march  22nd  by  Boris  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Wormwitch  a  band  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  mixture  of  black'n'roll,  death  metal  and  crust  punk.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  A  very  heavy  and  melodic  sound  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  lot  of  melody.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  lot  of  crust  punk  elements.  Throughout  their  side  of  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  some  of  the  riffing  also  showing  influences  of  classic  rock  and  death  metal,  clean  playing  is  added  on  the  closing  track.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  philosophy,  fantasy  and  folklore  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Wormwitch  and  if  you  are  a f an  of  melodic  black,  death  metal  and  crust  punk,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Spells  of  Tartarus".  

  Next  up  is  Sadistic  Ritual  a  band  that  plays  a  psychedelic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  heavy  and  brutal  sound  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  tracks  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  black  metal  screams  along  with  a  few  death  metal  growls  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  Elements  of  thrash  metal  can  also b e  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts   When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  also  bring  in  more  of  an  old  school  extreme  metal  style  as  well  as  the  music  also  having  its  psychedelic  moments.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dystopian  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sadistic  Ritual  are  a  very  great  sounding  psychedelic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Obscurity's  Stare".

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  i  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  black,  death,  thrash  metal  and  crust  punk.  8  out  of  10.

  https://wormwitch.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/wormwitch
https://www.instagram.com/wormwitchofficial
https://www.sadisticritualatl.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/SadRitATL

https://www.instagram.com/sadisticritual     

Wormwitch Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
We're a heavy metal band from Vancouver, BC, Canada. We started up about a year ago and we just put out our first record, Strike Mortal Soil.

2.Recently you have released an album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the demo and single you have released in the past?
The sound of the album is really varied. We wanted to try everything out, stretch our legs and see where we were most comfortable. The end result was sort of a sum of our influences, lots of black metal, 70s-80s rock and roll, Swedish death metal, a bit of speed metal. It differs a lot from our previous stuff. We started out as more of a crust punk band with a lot of European death metal influence, and have moved more in the metal direction since then.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
The lyrics on the album follow a loose theme, largely discussing the idea of finding strength in death and the brevity of life. It's a bit of a philosophical exploration of death's role in society and and the psyche. Modern people fear death and crave immortality, but mortality is what gives our experiences and accomplishments gravity and meaning.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Wormwitch'?
No meaning, it's a little bit tongue-in-cheek. It started out as the name for a fantasy-themed d-beat band that our vocalist/bassist, Robin, and I planned on starting, but when it came time to name Wormwitch we thought it would fit. We initially came up with it while talking about how bands with "worm" or "witch" in the name always end up being cool.


5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Our favorite show so far was probably our recent one in Salt Lake City, Utah. We were on tour with Numenorean from Calgary, it was a really nice venue with great sound and the crowd really seemed to dig us. We haven't played a whole ton of shows yet in the grand scheme of things.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We've got really exciting North American tour plans for the rest of the year and beyond, nothing I can announce just yet. We'd like to hit Europe before the next record as well.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?
It's been really great so far, which is awesome. We weren't really sure what to expect, but so far so good.

9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
I've got a solo project called Old Graves, which is somewhat on hold right now as Wormwitch is mega busy. Robin is slowly piecing together a new project which I'll likely be involved in as well. There's nothing officially released yet, but I can tell you it's sounding really good.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We've already started writing the next album, and there's definitely a shift. The process of writing, recording and releasing Strike Mortal Soil really served its purpose in showing us where we want to be and what Wormwitch should sound like. The new music is less dark and dirty, but it rips just as hard, if not harder. It's more focused and intense, and objectively a huge step up for us. We feel that we've really hit our stride and that it'll be a bright new beginning for us.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an infleunce on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Some bands that have really influenced our sound are Darkthrone, Entombed, Taake, Led Zeppelin, At The Gates, Kvelertak, Black Sabbath, Enslaved, Mastodon, tons more. Too many to name. Recently I've been listening to lot of the same stuff I always have, but a lot of Wardruna in particular.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
We're love the outdoors; hiking, camping, hunting, just being in nature. We like to read, Robin plays the odd video game. We're big into history and fantasy if that tells you anything about how we are.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thanks a ton for the interview my friend, check us out on tour or online!

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Wormwitch/Strike Mortal Soil/Naturmacht Productions/2017 CD Review

  Wormwitch  are  a  band  from Vancouver  B.C,  Canada  that  plays  a  very  raw  form  of  black  metal  with  some  elements  of  crust  and  black'n'roll  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Strike  Mortal  Soil"  which  was  released  by  Naturmacht  Productions.

  Acoustic  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  which  also  introduces  melodic  guitar  leads  onto  the  recording  along  with  a  brief  use  of  angry  shouts  and  after  awhile  black'n'roll  style  riffing  is  added  onto t he  recording  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  at  times  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  a  more  raw  feeling.

  Throughout the  recording  you  can  also  hear a   great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts  while  the  solos  and  leads  add  in  a  touch  of  traditional  rock  and   melodic  vocals  can  also  be  heard  on  a  few  tracks  while  the  music  also  mixes  in  elements  of  crust  punk  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  spoken  word parts  are  added  onto  the  closing  track.

  Wormwitch  plays  a  music  style  that  is  very  heavily  influenced  by  the  Nordic  style  of  black  metal  while  also  mixing  in  some  elements  of  rock'n'roll  and  crust  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Wormwitch  are  a  very  great sounding  black  metal  band  with  elements  of  crust  and  rock'n'roll  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "As Above"  "Even  The  Sun  Will  Die"  "Everlasting  Lie'  and  "So  Below".  8  out  of  10.

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