This is a thread to discuss the brilliance of classic doom/NWOBHM band Witchfinder General's music. In my opinion, though not as compositionally complex as Pagan Altar, I'd say their songwriting skills were still on the same level, just delivering a different sound, and that is saying a lot considering how godly that band is. The riffs, drumming, vocals, it's all great. Sure, the lyrics were usually pretty lame, but that was the time and I feel it fits recordings. All the recent vinyl reissues NWN did were great as well.

I'd go as far as to say they are one of the best flat-out metal bands of all time, not just within the doom genre.

Thoughts? Fans?

Mind explaining how the lyrics were lame?

And why you would even compare them to Pagan Altar.

Witchfinder General are excellent. My favourite, like many others on the board is of course Death Penalty.

"Death Penalty" and the stuff that came before it are fantastic. "Friends Of Hell" is decent (the production is a bit too slick for me and "Music" fucking sucks). The new album was a disappointment. The old stuff had a Black Sabbath influence but with the new album, there are several riffs that sound like Sabbath rip-offs. Plus, the production and mix blow.

I really wouldn't compare them at all to Pagan Altar. The only connection is they're both considered part of the NWOBHM movement and are doom bands.

The lyrics are "lame" because they were written by smart-ass teenagers or early twenty-somethings (I don't know the exact ages of those guys). I find most of them to be just funny, even if they are trying to be serious, which, I'm pretty sure that they often weren't.

Death Penalty is my favorite, really can't argue with the riffs on there.

Tabs are great, now ask the drummer
Smack my friend is just a bummer

Their vocalist is something of an acquired taste (Kinda reminds me of Diamond Head's Sean Harris in a way) but they are a pretty cool band. I'd definitely like to buy one of their albums at some point.

I will have to agree with the replies in here, Death Penalty is a masterpiece.

And how about that artwork? Mmm, delicious isn't it?

awesome band.

i have yet to hear resurrected though

Understatement of the century.

I'd disagree. Pagan Altar are on another level. Musically, their debut far surpasses anything WFG did and they have a level of deftness to their lyrics (you know, they don't make me cringe, in fact I'd point them out as "good metal lyrics"). I know that lyrics are hardly the most important element to any metal band but WFG's really, really suck. Let's have a quick glance, shall we?



That's just filthy. Food sex is for fat people. Fat people sex is gross.



Just-singing-anything-hope-no-one-actually-reads-this



Beware! Clunky rhyme schemes! Sarcófago weren't native speakers, what's your excuse?

Yeah, I could overlook stuff like this but once you do that you get on to the workmanlike writing and riffing that's often rather plain. They're not a bad band, really, I enjoy their debut - but worship? Nah, not when there's a whole lot of better NWOBHM/Doom out there. They are somewhat unique so I can see the attraction but it's just not too great.

Yeah they're no Obsessed

You're right there, Wino - despite being in a bit of a rut lately - never wrote a song called "Music".

Friends of Hell was great, if you skip 'Music'. 'Love on Smack' has some fantastic riffs and I thought it had a great 4 or 5 songs to close it up. Truly a great band taking Sabbath and doing something fun with it, instead of just the darker aspect of the music.

Lol @ Pagan Altar comparison. I would say more like Cirith Ungol.

...

No, but he participated in Shrinebuilder.

Aside from that part ( never really noticed it til you posted it), Free Country's lyrics are pretty damn cool.

I love Friends of Hell and Death Penalty but I do not like Invisible hate or Music at all, I try to like them both but I can't .

Witchfinder General are pretty good, but they have nowhere near the songwriting level of Pagan Altar. They're like Pagan Altar/Black Sabbath-lite, pretty much.

Once again, the music itself, the aesthetics, and the overall substance of Pagan Altar makes it absolutely fucking retarded to compare them to Witchfinder General. A more accurate comparison (musically, at the very least) to Pagan Altar would be Cirith Ungol.

While you're at it, you might as well compare Discharge to Black Flag.

If rhyming is what matters in lyrics I guess they do suck but I always felt the WFG title track drew a pretty good picture, in words and sounds, of what they were attempting to describe ("witch" mania).
Just my opinion.
Also, considering the era (NWOBHM) they were no worse than average.

I don't understand why anyone would compare Pagan Altar and Cirith Ungol, they're worlds apart, really. PA's sound is very rootsy and very much influenced by English folk (even on the debut, despite it being less pronounced there) whereas Cirith Ungol sound completely out-of-this-world. The only real line of comparison is the Sabbath-esque riffs, which PA use a lot more, and the lyrics that don't suck.



They fall into a very simple "picture painting" or "scene setting" lyrical style. That was pretty common, but again, there were bands better at doing what they did. Angel Witch, Venom and Cloven Hoof did a better job with the occult themes. Saxon, too, had a similar approach in very simple scene setting.

The "witch mania" you describe has certainly been dealt with a lot more class elsewhere. WFG's lyrics are just a bit campy and tongue-in-cheek. Their eponymous song certainly does nothing convey any actual fear or menace -- it reminds me of one of the more silly Hammer Horror films, really. Not bad, but it doesn't capture my imagination. Cathedral's 'Hopkins (The Witchfinder General)' does a better job in my opinion (despite being something of a homage to WFG).

Witchfinder General is great. Really English sounding. Also they have a quirkyness to them I like (most doom metal does though)

Venom? Really? (not picking a fight)


True. They've been done worse, or with less class as well.


Good point about the Hammer films. There may even be a direct correlation there.
Shall we just agree to disagree on WFG's lyrical style and move on to more pressing matters (whatever they should be)?