Precision songcraft isn’t necessarily the highest priority in heavy metal. A good headbanging riff, a neat solo and a half-catchy chorus will get a band a long way if they’re performed with skill, conviction, energy, passion and atmosphere. Lancastrian trad metallers Wytch Hazel have bucketloads of these, but the 10 songs on this third LP – running the gamut from insistent floor-fillers, windswept epics and spine- tingling stomps to mystical ballads, jubilant gallopers and wistful singalongs – are uncommonly beautifully wrought. Each song is piled high with quadruple-tracked guitar melodies, honed into optimum shape and given richness and weight with a clean, classy, Martin Birch-style production job. Even dressed like wood-dwelling medieval Samaritans and singing lyrics exclusively on devotional Christian themes, Wytch Hazel’s knack for an infectious, emotionally charged tune makes them one of the coolest bands around.
If you only listen to one Christian trad metal album this week, make it Wytch Hazel’s III: Pentecost
Wytch Hazel serve up songs of faith and devotion on instant-classic new album III: Pentecost
(Image: © Bad Omen)
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