Album: Nucleus
Year: 2016
Rating: 82/100
Örebro doom metal legends Witchcraft have a back catalogue that speaks for itself in terms of quality of output. Having evolved a long way from simple Black Sabbath worship, the quintet from previous effort (the outstanding "Legend") have now downsized to just a trio, still led by the unmistakable wail of vocalist and guitarist Magnus Pelander. So what can we expect from "Nucleus" that is different to its predecessors?
Well, for a start, the song arrangements. Opening track "Malstroem" kicks things off with some fantastic acoustic guitar and flute before giving way to a more traditional doom metal fare than was ever heard on "Legend". The new trio experiment more with longer songs, and more often than not they pull it off - the title track clocks in at just over 14 minutes in length, but it has a nod to Witchcraft's earliest albums, and the 16 minute "Breakdown" is also an epic. The other major addition to "Nucleus" is not just the acoustic guitar and flutes, but also the extra keyboards in tracks such as "The Outcast" and "An Exorcism Of Doubts" weaving its magic in the band's textures,
Along with the rest of Witchcraft's back catalogue, "Nucleus" is a strong album that maintains Witchcraft's requtation for putting out consistently good music. Long term fans of the band will also hugely appreciate their return to a more stoner/doom based sound, and it's definitely a good album as a starting place for those of you new to their music.
Track Listing:
- Malstroem
- Theory of Consequence
- The Outcast
- Nucleus
- An Exorcism of Doubts
- The Obsessed
- To Transcend Bitterness
- Helpless
- Breakdown
- Chasing Rainbows
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