
Roll the dice!
-- Witchlords --
15/07/2019
Stijn Daneels

Album genres:
■ | Power metal |
Album artists:
■ | Kristof Dedene | Vocals, guitar |
■ | Thomas Lambeir | Drums |
Review written by Stijn "Metal Shredder" Daneels.
[METAL SHREDDER REPORTING]
Some time
ago I was contacted by Witchlords’ frontman Kristof Dedene to check out his
band debut release “Demons In The Dark.” He also plays guitar in the classic
metal band Point Fifty (whose latest release we covered in this review: http://belgianmetalshredder.be/reviews/127 enjoyable stuff) and I tend to
believe he discovered our webzine through that particular article. Anyway,
enough fan theories, time to shred this set of power metal tunes!
[SHREDDING BASICS]
“Demons In
The Dark” is the first album from Belgian power metal band Witchlords, formed
in 2018. It’s an independent 30-minute release that ticks off plenty of the
classic power metal boxes. Short and fast-paced songs with high-pitched vocals,
plenty of technically impressive guitar solos and galloping drums that really
got my blood pumping and my head banging. In terms of vocals, Kristof does a
very fine job. Like a true bard he sings tales of heroism and bloodshed with a
varied vocal range that goes from snarls to banshee screams and everything in
between. He has a very passionate and expressive quality in his voice and it
kept me thoroughly engaged.
Now, the
one thing that’s truly missing to make Witchlords’s sound complete is bass.
There’s no bass on this album whatsoever and sometimes this issue sticks out
its ugly head. Fortunately, Kristof and Thomas put their own individual
strengths on full display (which I mentioned in the previous paragraph) and
they also sparingly use dramatic choir samples to add to the cinematic
atmosphere of their sound, expect for the Hans Zimmer Inception horns at the
beginning of the album (which was cheesy as hell and didn’t serve any real
purpose expect for maybe the “roll the dice” quote that could function as a
D&D reference). Still, those few issues didn’t hamper me for greatly enjoying
this album and I believe any power metal or high fantasy lover can equally
appreciate the work this dynamic duo has put out here given their practical
limitations.
[SHREDDING VISION]
The whole album
delves into the high fantasy worlds of such iconic brands as Conan The
Barbarian, Dungeon & Dragons and the books of J.R.R. Tolkien. So expect
songs dealing with orcs, demons, guests for gold & glory and tales of sword
& sorcery. The songs certainly fit well when playing a D&D campaign or
while watching a movie like The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Personally, I think
I’m going to listen to the album while playing the old-school high fantasy FPS games
Amid Evil or Heretic! Blasting weredragons and sabreclaws to smithereens with
the latter game’s Hell Staff or a tomed up Ethereal Crossbow sounds like a lot
of fun while blasting these tunes!
[SHARPEST SHREDS & BLUNTEST BLADES]
Track 8 “Slaughter”
is an epic pur sang power metal tune! Kristof’s guitar riffs are catchy and sharp,
his vocals soar throughout the tune and Thomas’s beats gallop along nicely! No
samples or cheap gimmicks, just a badass slaughter hymn. The opening title
track “Demons In The Dark” is very catchy and the song “The Horde” is probably
the most movie-like tune on this release, thanks to the effective use of samples!
The weakest
tracks on “Demons Of The Dark” are clearly the songs wherein the lack of bass
is truly missing such as in “Hero’s Fate.” It isn’t as cinematic a tune as many
of the other tracks on the album and as a result the bass empty sound becomes
painfully clear.
[SHREDDER’S SCORECARD]
7 D&D
dices out of 10. Although I could slam this album for its lack of bass and
bare-bones production I’m a huge believer of the philosophy “the whole is
greater than the sum of its parts.” And those two weaknesses aside, I felt
Witchlords’ debut to be a well-written and energetic release! With limited
resources, Kristof and Thomas still managed to craft a nice first impression
with excellent guitar work, expressive vocals, powerful drums and an excellent
high fantasy atmosphere. And now that they’ve got a second guitarist and a
bassist among their midst, they’re working hard on the sequel! In the meantime,
here’s the LOTR’s iconic Helms Deep battle with Witchlords’ “The Horde” song
playing along! Enjoy but remember, they’re taking the hobbits to Isengard!