2004-02-02
Completely in tune but from another time,
Deathwitch bring Terror to your stereo in an
effort to revive the sounds of their founding
fathers. The very raw vocals here are pure Bon
Scott merged with Chuck Schulinder (the latter
being in the seminal Death). The end of each
phrase belongs to Scott, while Schulinder gets
the body of lyrics like those on “Necrosodomizer”
or “Coffin Fornicator”. “Blood Sucking Fuck” has
some excellent old-school thrash touches to it
(guitars and drum interplay), and elsewhere this
group employs a stream of blast beats ala
Repulsion, or Morbid Angel. Is the cd skipping on
“Witch of Death”? I don’t think so (smiling). In
fact, the song has one of the best
slow-to-beyond-a-crawl-then-st-stop endings I’ve
heard on a recording anywhere yet. “Bitchfinder”
isn’t afraid to open melodically while the singer
gargles with the nuts and bolts found on the
highway that morning as Deathwitch drove out to
record this. But “Worthless Scum” was my
favorite, as their continual crescendo is reached
in the whirlwind of clipped percussion.
Cathartic. When you see a film of a car exploding
and the bent shrapnel flies in slow motion think
of
Violence Blasphemy Sodomy, an admirable
way to experience 1989 without having to borrow
cassettes from your older brother.
Jason Thornberry
