Artist......: Witchskull
Album.......: The Serpent Tide
Year........: 2023

Genre.......: Metal
Label.......: Rise Above Limited
Cat.No......:

Source......: WEB (24bit)
Encoder.....: libFLAC
Quality.....: 1595kbps avg. / 44.1kHz / 2 channels

Playtime....: 00:35:11  (420.70MB)
R.date......: 2023-06-16
S.date......: 2023-06-16

Website.....: http://open.qobuz.com/album/z6wr5m2e3p19b

Disc 1 / 1

01. Tyrian Dawn                                                     3:59
02. Obsidian Eyes                                                   4:01
03. Sun Carver                                                      5:49
04. Bornless Hollow                                                 5:28
05. The Serving Ritual                                              4:02
06. The Serpent Tide                                                3:09
07. Misery's Horse                                                  3:37
08. Rune of Thorn                                                   5:06

The motivation for me covering this album was undoubtedly The Shaman
colleague Rob Bryant‘s review of the band’s 2020 album A Driftwood Cross
where he told us to ‘believe the hype, this is killer’. The fact that they
also hit the number one spot in his end-of-year Top Ten was also a deciding
factor.

Witchskull are a trio from Canberra, Australia who formed in 2014 with The
Serpent Tide marking their third album on Lee Dorrian‘s Rise Above Records
label and fourth overall. The band comprise of Marcus De Pasquale
(vocals/guitar), Tony McMahon (bass) and Joel Green on drums. The album has
been a long time coming with only the band’s cover of AC/DC’s Sin City for
the Magnetic Eye Records 2021 sampler to satisfy fans in the meantime.

Tyrian Dawn starts and you are struck by the soaring vocal style with its
nods to Ronnie James Dio and Trouble’s Eric Wagner. Musically its
absolutely massive especially in the riff department, there are no murky
stoner vibes to be found here, so if you were planning on lighting up a
fatty you’ll be left a little disappointed. Best leave those types of
shenanigans for Bongzilla eh, this is hardy beer drinking doom. On a
serious note, it’s along the lines of Pagan Altar and Witchfinder General
and thus makes for an excellent crunching opener.

Obsidian Eyes recalls Soundgarden with amazing Chris Cornell style wails
while musically there are hints of Kyuss’ groovy desert influenced stoner
rock too. It sounds like it was lifted straight from the ‘90s and in fact I
was racking my brains when the underrated Sugartooth’s Sold My Fortune
suddenly sprung to mind. Needless to say, this is not a fatuous tribute to
that decade, it is instead a belting track that made me almost tearful with
nostalgia.

Sun Carver, the album’s longest track at nearly six minutes, is less
immediate than its predecessors. You could even say progressive and
‘dynamic’ reminding me as it does of Solitude Aeturnus and Candlemass,
though give it a couple of spins and you will be rewarded for your
patience. An incredible and perfectly performed piece. Bornless Hollow
again tips its hat to Soundgarden with sounds approaching classic
Badmotorfinger territory while The Serving Ritual demonstrates an Iron
Maiden influence but one that is far less bombastic and over the top thanks
to the aggression that has been injected into the proceedings.

The Serpent Tide was released as a single and I can hear why. Man is this
infectious, from the off this number gets you straight for the jugular and
does not fuck about. Imagine all the slow parts of Electric Funeral, its
Sabbathian goodness is a positive joy to behold. If this doesn’t get you
pumped, then I don’t think there is much hope for you. A personal favourite
on the album.

Misery’s Horse should definitely have you recalling Trouble, especially
during the faster sections that are pure Psalm 9 and seeing as I mentioned
Eric Wagner (RIP) at the start of the review, this makes perfect sense.
Immense. Rune Of Thorn is thunderous heavy metal that makes one think of
Swedes Grand Magus but with none of the cheesy Manowar tendencies that make
that band such a hard sell for me. It just about veers on the right side of
‘traditional metal’ and concludes the album in a suitably epic fashion.

It looks like Rob was right to be so enthused about these guys, they are
tremendous. Strong melodies, excellent musicianship and a surprisingly
diverse sound make for an absolute beast of a record. Recommended
listening.