Burning Witches

While they’re no Jenner, Zix or Rock Goddess, Switzerland’s all-girl quintet, Burning Witches, has churned out a mildly auspicious, if not amateurish, titular full-length last year under Pledge Music (duly limited to 666 copies) which showcases an aspiring Jill-Janus styled metal queen who’s no stranger to enthused albeit over-the-top bewitching vocal antics as well as a pair of shred-some ax women who, despite falling short of matching Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing's veracity, have me preparing a twerpy marriage proposal in light of their, well, jaw-dropping cover of Judas Priest’s Jawbreaker which lends one to believe that, although they’re not quite ready to join the big leagues, these European trad metal man-eaters - including its competitive battery - possess the skill necessary to shine in the future. That said, their originals surely require some touching up, as primarily attested by the awkward and rather simplistic opener, the contrived “Black Widow”, which, according to my pal Five_Nails, sounds like they’re either taking the piss or wantonly emulating King Diamond!

Thankfully, the gals crank up the heat on the succeeding title track, on which Seraina Telli manages to convincingly emulate the man himself, the illustrious Rob Halford, while incorporating her own nifty, gritty style following a slick, early Huntress meets Priest palm muted guitar riff:

“Hunter, chaser, habit-keeper
Decision - maker of life and death
Bring your fire to the torch and keep it up in the darkest hour
Do you still think you're right?!”

(Her raw inflection at the end of this verse as well as her poised, hard-rocking chorus is notably poignant!). Thanks to its grinding and fluid momentum, “Burning Witches” proper is easily the top track, along with the Priest cover of course, amidst nine other so-so selections which could have greatly benefitted from less florid theatrics, notably “Bloody Rose” and the ridiculously pedestrian as well as Huntress evoking “Creatures of the Night” and “We Eat Your Children”, as both feature Telli’s most gimmicky and squirm-inducing candy house witch screams. Interestingly enough, she compellingly displays a hidden talent and flair for more conventional crooning/singing at the inception of “The Dark Companion” as well as on the token ballad, “Save Me” (included as an even more relaxing and extended acoustic version on the Japanese edition), which I consider an innocuous highlight alongside the obvious hard-driving humdingers mentioned above. “Metal Demons”, the shortest track at just under three minutes, is another worth gleefully fast-forwarding to thanks to its memorably catchy yet rather ambiguous i.e. misleading chorus and swift as well as expressive neo-classical guitar solo.

At this juncture, bear in mind Burning Witches’ musicianship is actually quite fair as far as introductory ventures are concerned. The overall production and mixing are sound while the rhythm section, split between Jeanine Grob on bass and the petite Lala Frischknecht on drums, adequately pulls its weight throughout. Bass lines are cosily tucked behind the richly toned, slightly-above mid tempo guitar riffs, courtesy of Romana Kalkuhl and Sonia Nusselder, whose tag-team leads, however generic, have the potential to bloom into full blown guitar wizardry should the pair continue to hone its chops in the practice room. Heck, their godly take on “Jawbreaker” alone has me convinced they’ve got what it takes to greatly elevate the band’s metal ranking on a (hopefully!) superior sophomore.

As a general rule, the bona fide, harder tracks, especially the heaviest of the bunch - “Creator of Hell” and “Deathlist” - launch straight into harried, at times tremolo-based, riffing and upper-ranged cawing (except for “Creatures of the Night”, on which the drums initially take center stage) while the song constructs themselves adhere to the time honored verse, chorus, verse construct. Thus, all the band has to do now is work out a few kinks; namely, tone down Telli’s hammy overtures and work out a formula which combines the congenial and gripping fist-pumping edge of the title track with the presentably authentic and sanguine vibe of “Save Me”. In addition, should the guitarists’ apply themselves further like do on “Jawbreaker”, there’s a good chance we might eventually have a winner on our hands. Although Burning Witches’ debut, at present, constitutes no more than passable fare for the ardent traditional heavy metal connoisseur, will still likely resonate with fans of female fronted as well as 100% femme metal outfits, if only for a few select spins anyhow.

Highlights

“Burning Witches”
“Metal Demons”
“Save Me”
“Jawbreaker”