No
Light Only Fire: Tracklisting
1.There
Is No Light, There Is Only Fire - 04:35
2.The
Martyr - 09:01
3.Made
of the Void - 06:37
4.Negative
Utopia - 10:06
5.To
the Gallows - 06:37
6.Disaster
Reality - 11:24
7.Four
Candles - 01:00
8.De
Mysteriis Doom Sabbathas - 14:23
Band
Members:
Necroskull
- Guitar/Vocals
Emily
Witch - Bass
Wilbrahammer
- Drums
Review:
"You
have one new message in your Inbox."
Goes
to check inbox. Discovers a download link to Dropbox but what could
it be?
Well
let me tell you. It's riff after riff after riff after fucking riff
of pure 80's heavy metal tinged doom. Or
to give the album it's more commonly accepted name "No Light
Only Fire" the newest offering from Hampshire's own Witchsorrow.
It's good. Like seriously good.
Once
again recording with Producer/Wizard Chris Fielding this time now at
Jon Davis' magnificent Skyhammer Studio (Trust me, It's like Doom
Disneyland.) Releasing their first offering for Candlelight Records,
we find Witchsorrow have released their finest and most versatile
record yet.
Track
one "There Is No Light Only Fire" doesn't waste anytime in
establishing itself. Galloping guitars and bass lines and as always
the stellar drums of The Wilbrahammer (or David to his mum) and some
impressive vocals sees the band in fine and quite frankly fast form.
The whole thing comes slamming to a halt in a little under five
minutes.
"The
Martyr" takes us back to more familiar territory in not only
track length but also pace. This. Is. Doom. A
very deliberate and very fucking heavy riff tramples across the song
until the swing of the drums kick in and some seriously catchy vocals
arrive which will burrow their way into your mind for days on end. A
blistering guitar solo a cry of "Oh Yeah!" and the pace
quickens. All of a sudden Witchsorrow are off and in my mind I
picture myself galloping on horseback, riding though a village
slaying the simple peasants in my way.....
Both
"Made Of The Void" and the ten minute beast "Negative
Utopia" incorporate many of the elements displayed so far. Tempo
changes, from cruel bowel troubling riffs, to NWOBHM style gallops
and everything in between.
One
of my favourite things on this record though are the vocals and
lyrics, from the clean but powerful delivery, the stories they tell
and the hooks. Yeah the hooks. On a Doom record. Honestly, there's
more hooks than a fucking hat stand.
Which
leads us nicely onto the centrepiece of the record "To The
Gallows." This song is all about the vocals. With it's simple
but addictive chorus "To The Gallows/To The Death" it's
genuinely full of sing along moments and will get stuck in your head
whether you like it or not so you might as well just give in to it.
"Disaster
Reality" is another track that runs into double figures and is
chock full of riffs, riffs and more riffs. It's probably the most
evenly paced track on the record and leads perfectly into "Four
Candles" a solemn minute long piece played on a lone acoustic
guitar.
The
album (or certainly the advance copy) closes with "De Mysteriis
Doom Sabbathas" which I think they originally released on a very
limited run on cassette for their Roadburn appearance in 2013, giving
people a chance to pick up something a little bit special.
"No
Light Only Fire" is an excellent record from one of the UK's
finest bands and now with a new home on Candlelight will hopefully
help them continue to reach new audiences.
Get
yourself to the official album launch by clicking here:
Words
by Simon Ross Williams
