The Dark Tower

Now with Napalm Records backing them instead of Nuclear Blast, Burning Witches have still kept up their busy release schedule with a fifth album delivered within 6 years. The Dark Tower doesn’t break the mould in terms of the classic heavy/power vibes, drawing still from vintage Accept and Judas Priest, as well as clear stylistic overlap with Warlock and Doro, in large part due to Laura Guldemond’s tough yet rangy vocals. Something noticeably Germanic pervades the 11 full songs, something evident on recent Accept and Grave Digger albums with their powerful rhythms, anthemic aspirations, and occasionally well-worn themes. Indeed, 4 of the 5 members come from Switzerland (Guldemond is Dutch), so this connection should not surprise much, although Burning Witches stand out less than one expects from their line-up, a rather stripped-down production failing to promote their riskier moments.

That’s not to say that The Dark Tower plays it safe all the time, some noticeably heavy moments predominating on ‘Doomed to Die’, ‘Unleash the Beast’, and the brooding chug fest of the title track, while lead guitar plays a strong role during ‘Heart of Ice’ and ‘World on Fire’. The formula just seems a bit bland in places, unfortunately proven more by the exceptions than the standard mid-paced tracks. ‘Renegade’ injects more hard rock flavour to produce something we’ve heard hundreds of times before and ‘Tomorrow’ sticks out strongly as an extremely straight-faced ballad - the only clean moment on the album. Perhaps the tedium of The Dark Tower can be glimpsed aptly from its first lyric, the extremely ominous “working from nine to five” that commences ‘Unleash the Beast’. Burning Witches never feel like hard work to listen to - the album is too memorable for that - yet some listeners may interpret this performance as being part of the daily grind.


Originally written for Metalegion #13 - www.metalegion.com

Marketing-wise Swiss-Dutch heavy metal quintet Burning Witches and its management have done a lot of clever things. Touring with heavy metal legends Paul Di'Anno and KK's Priest should get them some attention from seasoned genre veterans. The numerous interviews and photo sessions give the quintet a sympathetic identity as tough ladies next door who have worked hard and well to achieve and deserve their current success. The cover artwork of this album is absolutely outstanding in my opinion and would deserve its spot on the walls of any genre fan in form of a flag or a poster. Covering Ozzy Osbourne and W.A.S.P. on this particular output shows the band's modesty by paying tribute to its inspirations that have struck a chord with so many other genre fans around the globe.

The only problem is that the music on fifth studio album The Dark Tower is boring, exchangeable and formulaic. It's quite a challenge to sit through all fifteen songs with an ambitious total running time just shy of sixty-five minutes. The drums and percussion fail to stand out at any moment on this output. The bass guitar lacks drive, energy and impact as it seems to be buried in the production. The guitar play is average at best, mostly revolving around simple mid-paced chord progressions. None of the solos feels particularly emotional or inspired either. The lead vocals meander between melodic passages, rougher undertones and a few melodic extreme metal sections. Now, if the vocalist were particularly skilled and managed to combine those different styles coherently and fluidly, such a broad approach could pay off but the vocalist doesn't have the required skills in this case. Such experiments could however still be saved by creative and experienced songwriting but it fails to stand out as it goes by the numbers and plods along unspectacularly.

A few decent tracks on this record save Burning Witches' The Dark Tower from being below average to be fair. "Tomorrow" for instance is a heartfelt power ballad that showcases some genuinely emotional vocals and precise melodic guitar play. "The Lost Souls" is a decent album closer with a great balance of drive and emotions as it also comes around with some catchy melodies and promising sing-along passages that should work well in concert.

Other songs however completely fail to deliver the goods. Title track "The Dark Tower" plods along endlessly with weak songwriting and combines ideas that don't harmonize at all and leave behind a confusing mess. "Renegade" attempts to have a rebellious attitude with gritty vocals and some explicit lyrics but that approach just sounds unintentionally amusing. The final result is almost childish in its simplicity and makes listeners cringe. Let's not talk about the two cover songs that conclude the album and neither reinvent the material nor get anywhere close to the quality of the original material. Burning Witches should refrain from publishing such songs on regular studio records as they might only blend in during live shows in order to please the crowd.

At the end of the day, Burning Witches' The Dark Tower is an average traditional heavy metal album that rushes by without leaving any significant impression. I wish this dynamic quintet much success for the future but the music presented here just sounds bland, old-fashioned and robotic to me. The numerous reviewers hailing this band as the next big thing should perhaps focus less on the group's marketing campaign and simply listen to the exchangeable material offered here. Burning Witches are overrated and this release doesn't deserve any further attention.

The world at large will no doubt continue to be dumbfounded at how every prediction of metal’s oncoming demise has proven as accurate as the Jehova’s Witness various predictions of the apocalypse, but one clue that may help clear things up is the string of resurrection spells being cast in the form of studio LPs courtesy of Switzerland’s latest and possibly most auspicious act, Burning Witches. Drawing from the same blend of raw yet melodic, 80s styled speed and aggression that typified the heavier side of the old style and the feminine mystique that came with such notable acts as Warlock, Zed Yago and Leather, this quintet of highly skilled up-and-comers have been repeatedly upping the ante since their 2015 inception, bringing the classic metal tropes of witchcraft and archaic evil into the present day synthesis of the traditional style with power metal. The birth of their fifth portfolio of studio incantations dubbed The Dark Tower (not to be confused with the Stephen King novel series) continues their highly consistent output of communicating the sounds of 4 decades past into a modern context with caution thrown to the proverbial wind.

Though still a comparatively young outfit, the road already traveled has not been without a few bumps for this fold, and the performance they turn in here definitely betrays the wisdom of a battle-tested regiment. Dutch vocalist and jagged-edged impresario Laura Guldemond makes yet another stellar showing since stepping in for original singer Seraina Telli, recalling the lioness-like power and rasp of Doro Pesch and Jutta Weinhold during their respective 80s heyday, while still relative newcomer and guitarist Larissa Ernst continues to cut heads masterfully with co-founder Romana Kalkuhl, putting forth a blend of pulverizing riff work and richly harmonized lead exchanges that would make Iron Maiden and Judas Priest proud. Pile on top of this highly sweet and savory brew of old school fervor the colossal rhythm section provided by bassist Jeanine Grob and drummer Lala Frischknecht, as well as the production magic of German thrash legend Schmier and Poltergeist icon V.O. Pulver, and the result is an album so chock full of aggression that it often blurs the lines between its old school inspiration and the subsequent thrash exploits of the aforementioned powers behind the coven.

Though an album that is clearly knee-deep in the occult imagery of the early to mid-80s, there is also a highly theatrical character to it that dovetails with the later power metal craze in the U.S. and later Europe. The haunting clean guitars and dreary atmosphere of the opening prelude “Rise Of Darkness”, further adorned by a haunting harmonized chant by Guledmond and a menacing narration, set the tone of a looming explosion of auditory excellence with a vivid image of olden horrors in tow. Nipping directly on its heels is a brutal display of modern speed metal mayhem that could rival Judas Priest’s most vicious outings since Painkiller, and proves no slouch in the shred department with a stream of solos provided in a guest capacity by American virtuoso and The Iron Maidens axe-slinger Courtney Cox, whom also provides her signature licks to the fast-paced sea of riffs and harmonies “World On Fire” and the serene bordering on pristine balladry of “Tomorrow”, two songs which showcase a level of artistic range that sees this outfit outdoing themselves compared to past studio efforts.

Naturally this opus doesn’t diverge too far from the last couple LPs, leaning heavily on compact and well-crafted songwriting to temper what is otherwise an off the rails expression of archaic metal splendor. Mid-paced rocking beasts like “Renegade” and “Arrow Of Time” waste no time with fancy gimmickry and go straight for the most infectious hooks possible, recalling some of the arena favorites that Dio, Accept and Iron Maiden were trotting out in the mid-80s with a pair of equally memorable sing-along chorus sections. Things veer into more of an epic storytelling direction with the coupling of the audio book interlude of horror “House Of Blood” and the dark, thudding beast of a title anthem “The Dark Tower”, showcasing Guldemond’s extreme prowess in a master storyteller capacity, while the eerie signature guitar riff brings a vile, Slayer-like element to an otherwise traditional extended metal romp. Yet when all is said and done, the pinnacle moment that ties this album’s chapters together is the rich melodic speed anthem “Heart Of Ice”, which could almost be a b-side from Maiden’s Powerslave were it sung by Dickinson and mixed with 1984 studio technology.

If a modernized blend of mid-80s nostalgia and 2010s power metal fury is one’s preferred poison, then Burning Witches’ latest boiling cauldron of molten steel is about as good as it can get. Even when measured against the titanic sounds of recent output by the likes of Crystal Viper and Battle Beast, there is an extra dose of uncompromising aggression and punch that puts this album closer to the decibel level of the latest material heard out of Accept and Primal Fear. Old school fans will particularly want to give this offering an attentive listen for the two brilliant covers that come at its tail-end, as the renditions of WASP banger “I Wanna Be Somebody” and Ozzy Osbourne’s “Shot In The Dark” this outfit delivers take all the best elements of the originals and amps them up something fierce. With these five leather clad amazons now hitting the road with aforementioned guest guitarist Courtney Cox in congress and nothing but clear sailing ahead, it can safely be said that the 80s are alive and well in 2023, and the selections from this outing that make it to the stage will surely bring down the house with the best of them.

Originally written for Sonic Perspectives (www.sonicperspectives.com)

Traditional heavy metal is a difficult field to stand out in. Even the better of the younger bands occasionally have moments that make you wish you were listening to the bands that inspired them instead. That used to be my exact opinion about Burning Witches: why would I listen to them if I could listen to Warlock instead? Over the last few albums, however, they have gradually been improving, eventually becoming a mainly mid-tempo, yet surprisingly varied heavy metal band with a more pronounced aggressive edge than most of their peers. Admittedly, the excellent vocals of Laura Guldemond have contributed to that immensely.

Compared to its direct predecessor ‘The Witch of the North’, Burning Witches’ new album ‘The Dark Tower’ feels a bit more straightforward and less theatrical. Fortunately though, the band further expands upon the improvements heard on that album. Due to most of the material being mid-tempo, variation in the riff and melody department is of vital importance to a band like Burning Witches. Their early albums were frequently lacking that variation, but lately each song on their albums has a clear identity of its own. Somehow I suspect Guldemond’s multi-faceted voice was the catalyst of that, but the guitar parts are very well thought-out.

Interestingly, while most heavy metal albums in this style tend to peter out towards the end, some of the best moments on ‘The Dark Tower’ are actually on its second half. Especially back to back highlights ‘Heart of Ice’ and ‘Arrow of Time’ are simply great. The former is full of gorgeous guitar harmonies and that verse riff is just fantastic, while the latter reaches incredible heights when it opens op for its beautiful chorus and features a blink and you miss its tribute to Dio’s ‘Holy Diver’. The more aggressive ‘Doomed to Die’ and the pulsating closer ‘The Lost Souls’ even feature some vocal nods to Guldemond’s more extreme metal roots.

‘The Dark Tower’ is not just about its latter half, though. Opening track ‘Unleash the Beast’ was an early favorite due to Romana Kalkuhl’s borderline speed metal riffs and the overall aggression in everyone’s delivery. ‘World on Fire’ has just been released as a single and that is probably the right choice, as it has one of the most memorable choruses on the album. The surprisingly sutble ‘Tomorrow’ is possibly the best Burning Witches ballad to date, as it breaks with power ballad clichés by remaining fairly introspective all the way through, while ‘Renegade’ has an almost hardrock-ish vibe that makes it a cool semi-departure.

Over the last few years, Burning Witches went from being an act that might be interesting to check out on a festival to a band whose albums are very much worth hearing. And while I think ‘The Dark Tower’ is a bit too long for its own good at nearly an hour, I would have a really hard time picking which songs should have been dropped. In a genre where many bands are content to just keep doing the same thing over and over again, it is good to hear Burning Witches consistently finding new strengths, with especially the guitars of Kalkuhl and Larissa Ernst getting better each time.

Recommended tracks: ‘Heart of Ice’, ‘Unleash the Beast’, ‘Arrow of Time’

Originally written for my Kevy Metal weblog