WITCHSKULL

WITCHSKULL     “The Serpent Tide”

By Dr. Abner Mality

Sometimes you just have to doom on and for those times, there is WITCHSKULL. These Australians have been a pretty reliable source of pure doom in the classic sense. “The Serpent Tide” keeps that string intact with a solid effort of down-tuned riff worship.

It seems strange but one of the notable things about the album is its energy. There are no really long tracks and the sense of flow and urgency is palpable. Although the doomy edge is still present, tracks like “The Serving Ritual”, “Misery’s Home” and “Rune of Thorn” motor along pretty well...more like up-tempo ORANGE GOBLIN or NWOBHM tracks than sluggish doom. But you get that gloom as well on cuts like “Tyrian Dawn” and “Obsidian Eyes”. “Sun Carver” is an outstanding track that has a cool psychedelic edge while being really heavy and ponderous….good stuff!

The quavery high vocals of Marcus de Pasquale take a little getting used to, but have a strange, almost shamanic quality that fits doom metal. He also plays lead and the soloing is top notch throughout. WITCHSKULL aren’t doing anything radically new but “The Serpent Tide” is an effective and painless way for you to get your doom on.

RISE ABOVE RECORDS 

WITCHSKULL