CD review KING WITCH ‘Body of Light’

King Witch, that’s Laura Donnelly (v), Jamie Gilchrist (g), Rory Lee (b) and Lyle Brown. The four musicians from Scotland formed the band in 2015, premiered in 2018 and have now their sophomore album ‘Body of Light’ ready for shipping.

‘Body of Light’ features nine songs, some of the with epical length. The masterpiece on the new album is certainly ‘Solstice I – She Burns’. With more than 10 minutes the tune outruns all the other tracks on the album. Heavy doom riffs and Donnelly’s great vocals create a dark and oppressive atmosphere with some nuances and twist guaranteeing alternation that breaks the general pattern once in a while. I was reminded here and there of Zed Yago. Less because of the music itself but more from a perspective of stellar and expressive female vocals. Laura Donnelly for sure knows how to use her voice to create an atmosphere.

Although the album contains not more than nine songs the running time is with more than 60 minutes rather long. Most of the songs are beyond five minutes, with one exemption. ‘Witches Mark’ shows a different aspect of King Witch. Fast and dirty, that’s what the song reflects. The quartet shifts gears dramatically and pushes the pedal really hard. Such an approach fits King Witch very well and 1-2 more of this kind of songs would have spiced-up the track listing even more.

Nevertheless, ‘Body of Light’ is a well-crafted and professionally done longplayer, that brings the dark beauty of Doom Metal to forefront. Good stuff.