WITCH-HUNT -

WITCH-HUNT - PROPHECIES OF A GREAT PLAGUE - X-RATED RECORDS
Being one of those bands of whom I had heard a great deal in the underground, I was glad to receive the band's new MCD from the label. Featuring five songs, the trio of Brian Straight (founder and vocalist/guitarist), Erik Sayenga (drums) and Seth Newton (bass) stick to a form of basic death metal which is definitely heavy in its raw form. No technical breaks or whirlwind solos here, just plain old heaviness. The closest one can describe the band would be a mix of Massacre (basic bludgeoning music) with early Celtic Frost (occasional guitar sound), but the comparison is largely inaccurate as the trio clearly do not copy anyone else and mangle things in their own personal manner. Some variety is provided in the form of slower/faster interchanges as well as lower/higher vocal approaches. But all in all should you be looking for a basic, no frills underground sound. X-Rated Records at Apdo. Postal 1-2023, Cuernavaca, Mor., C.P. 62001, Mexico will send you the MCD for US$10 in the USA or US$12 elsewhere. - Ali "The Metallian"

WITCH-HUNT - SOULS ENSHROUDED FIRE - X-RATED
Hard to believe this is the band's first full-length, as their EP appeared some four years ago and little has been heard of the band since, but here it is and even though the line up is down to a duo little has changed. America's Witch-hunt mixes speedy melo-death instances with a prevalently slow-to-mid pace 'atmospheric' approach complete with (yup) K&F. The best comparison is undoubtedly early Phlebotomized as the vocals can and do get very deep here and there. It doesn't excite me but you know what to expect. - Ali "The Metallian"