Witchfield – Sleepless

site | label | buy

Italians Witchfield are a doom metal project from ex-Death SS/Paul Chain drummer Thomas Hand Chaste with former Paul Chain band-mate Baka Bomb on bass, vocalist/guitarist brothers Giovanni and Andy Cardellino respectively from L’Impero Delle Ombre, and Hopesend guitarist Ilario Suppressa. After the expected haunting intro the first track proper, Edina’s Escape From Cancer City, resides very much in the vein of early Black Sabbath with an added melodic elements provided by Chaste on keyboards. From there on the album moves through several subtle variations from more traditional epic doom (I Curse My Fate) akin to Reverend Bizarre, church organ instrumental Totentanz, back to Sabbath territory on Inquisitor, a sombre cover of Alice Cooper‘s Black Widow and a lumbering nine-minute The Mask of The Demon, which is the weakest track on offer as it doesn’t really get anywhere. But any doom album can carry one like that. Sleepless is that special kind of doom album that sounds grand and simple at the same time and covers all of the ground doom can cover, sometimes in just one song. In a thriving underground doom metal scene at the moment this one rises to the top of the pack.

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2009, Albums, Doom Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, Witchfield