Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Witchtrap - Vengeance Is My Name


It's been six years since Colombia's underground favorites, Witchtrap have delivered onto its hordes of fans some new material. Their weapon of choice is full-length number three "Vengeance Is My Name" which features nine tracks of nostalgia conjuring thrash tunes, the likes of which could be compared to bands like Antichrist, Nekromantheon or Deathhammer. While the aforementioned bands all excel in sounding dark and evil in their renditions of thrash, Witchtrap is drenched in old-school goodness, making this record sound like it came directly from the 80's Teutonic thrash scene. 

After the intro clears and "Winds of War" starts it becomes clear instantly that Witchtrap is the farthest possible thing from a modern thrash act, though the skepticism as to whether or not the band is just another tired and lame retro-act remains in tact. The riffs later on in the song (and the whole album, actually) all sound like they've been done before, but Witchtrap manages to capture a "fresh" sound that few bands today can and the music benefits completely. Once the break comes in during "Winds of War," the need to forcibly slam your head into something becomes imminent and the chances of this band being shunned are decreased significantly. 

I usually find it unecessary to make any mention of guitar solos because they're either absent or nothing special, but that is not the case on "Vengeance Is My Name." The solos on "Damned to the Core" in particular are brilliant in the way that they shred like Darren Travis of Sadus, but also possess a melodic feel to give some depth to the solos. Most of the riffs aren't anything special, nor are many of them memorable (sans the terrific riffs in "Put to Death" and "Venomous Breath," which have a technical edge to them), but the vocalist, Burning Axe Ripper whose barks sound a lot like a cleaner Tom Angelripper is able to incorporate his talents to create some catchy moments like on "Queen of Hell," a midpaced number that places a lot of emphasis on the vocals. Aside from the horrifically cheesy lyrics, "Vengeance Is My Name" will be hard to ignore simply because it captures the band playing metal in its most unaltered and pure state, and quite well I might add. 

Be sure to check out and like Witchtrap on Facebook!

Highlights
"Winds of War"
"Put to Death"
"Venomous Breath"

Final Rating
4.25/5 or 85%.