Witchery

Coming as wonderfully designed A5 digibook with stunning artwork “Witchery” is the second full length by Thou Shell of Death, one of the very few metal bands hailing from Estonia I have ever come across. Having been formed a decade ago they have managed to release a few EPs and splits as well as their debut album “Sepulchral Silence”, which had gained quite a bit of positive resonance. While outfits from countries that are not heavily famous for producing masses of quality metal records always have a certain bonus for being somewhat exotic and unorthodox, Thou Shell of Death surely do not need that kind of promotion. The quality of their music speaks for itself and fans of captivating black metal should take notice.

Throughout, we are sung tales of mythologies, nature and esoteric topics which make “Witchery” sound like it might just be another typical atmospheric black metal album, but luckily for us it stands above as something special. While the instrumentation gives us that feeling of mythology, it is separated from all of it enough to have its own identity. This is where Thou Shell of Death make it clear that they are not simply any other band of this genre, they have character and their own self-identification.

Each song is grand in scale, with all of them exceeding the 10 minutes mark, and they take you for a round trip. We experience tense moments, trials and tribulations, snowy mountains with streams running through them, dense and dark forests, sweeping plains, and the wind whispering through the cold air. All of these feelings can be found within each of the tracks, giving the listener the feeling of having completed an epic journey once the album has closed.

That all being said there are enough riffs and gritty blast-beat sections. After all this is still a metal record and therefore a certain level of aggressiveness is necessary to keep the intensity level high. Many sections feels like a safer homage to late second-wave black metal with its deliberate churning and foreboding tone. While there is nothing here I would call progressive in the common sense some of the tracks and pieces are more adventurous.. The guitars feel scorched and threatening, as if a burning sun was looming over everything.

The production has been carefully done, not too upfront and hefty, but in a more subtle way. This approach helps underlining the mystical and atmospheric nature of this record. The complete package is a real treasure which fans of emotional back metal should add to their collection.