WITCHSORROW "The Devil And All Of His Works" LP

For Witchsorrow, doom metal is an obsession. Slaves to Black Sabbath, and proudly continuing the heavy work of the genre’s high priests Cathedral, Reverend Bizarre, Electric Wizard, Candlemass and Saint Vitus, the Hampshire-based trio’s fanaticism has made them one of the undergrounds leading lights.

Forged in 2006 around the core duo of Necroskull (vocals/guitar) and Emily Witch (bass), across four albums their sound has retained the traditions of doom metal – and here metal is just as important a word as doom – while carving a place all of their own within it. Invoking the dread and despair of Sabbath’s signature song, their music is also that of dyed-in-the-wool metal maniacs, proud and unashamed.

It’s found its share of acolytes as well, having shared stages with heroes like Electric Wizard and Vitus, as well as performing their hymns to the void at Download, Roadburn, ArcTanGent, Desertfest and countless others.

As they enter their twentieth year, the fire has not dimmed on their fifth offering, The Devil And All His Works. Eight years since the true metal attack of 2018’s highly-acclaimed Hexenhammer, even as the swan song for longtime drummer Wilbrahammer, it finds the band sharpening their claws and delving even deeper into the depths of doom metal than before. From the mighty, organ-infused opener Omnia Finiuntur, to Bacchus’ celebration of sin, the fist-raised chug of Hades Chains (featuring guest roars from Serena Cherry of Svalbard/Noctule) or the epic A Quintessence Of Dust (featuring Employed To Serve’s Sammy Urwin shredding a killer lead), fans of this stuff in its most arcane, heavy and occult-edged form will fall under its spell.

“I wanted everything to be as pure as possible,” asserts Necroskull. “Everything had to be total doom, to an even higher degree than before. I’m still as proud to call ourselves a doom metal band as I ever was. I don’t know anything else.”

The album’s lyrics and title – taken from an occult book by legendary author Dennis Wheatley – come from the idea that The Devil is present in everything, and about knowing when to let him in and when to cast him out.

“I noticed when I was writing the lyrics that there was something of him there in everything I was coming up with as a metaphor for things both good and bad” explains Necroskull. “I’ve previously written cautionary tales about people getting into Faustian pacts without realising what they’re dealing with, but here there was a different balance. Bacchus is about the joy of decadence and sin,but there’s also things that touch on impermanence and loss and feeling like there’s a dark force at the edge of reality out to hide misfortune for you to trip on.”

With new drummer Scott ‘Doom’ Taylor (Vnder A Crvmbling Moon, Garganjua) now on board, the crusade continues apace. On the anthemic headbanger In Triumph We Rot!!!, Witchsorrow sing of a life dedicated to doom, both as a passion and simply an unavoidable calling. Two decades into their mission, The Devil And All His Works is their most captivating sermon yet.