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The Forest Witch

    
       
       
       
     
             
Olathia are a heavy metal band from the USA releasing three albums to date - 'Hunters' (2015), 'Snake Charmer' (2019), and 'The Forest Witch' (2023).    
             
Now whether planned or just a coincidence, Olathia - pronounced "oh-lay-thee-ah" - have emerged every four years with new music, the bands latest offering an eight song avalanche of "power thrash" - an amalgamation of thrash, power and traditional heavy metal! 'The Forest Witch' features soaring, gut ripping female vocals courtesy of Chris E. - the band completed by bassist Terry Johnson, drummer Joe Lowrie, and guitarist Dylan Andras. The album is brought to life by the heavy hitting 'Insatiable', setting a blistering pace as it thunders forth with all the aggression of thrash, yet oozing the elegance of galloping "foot on the monitor" heavy metal! The powerhouse vocals of singer Chris are emphatic, commanding the airways with a mighty belt, bellow and a roaring raspy howl! Just where does she get the power from?    
             
Exploding furiously into life, the title song 'The Forest Witch' takes off at high velocity, the band turning in a thrash metal kinda performance - every metalhead everywhere vigorously rocking their heads back and forth! And the jaw dropping vocals of Chris are simply out of this world, roaring louder than a lion and making me go weak at the knees! The urgency and purpose of 'The Forest Witch' (the song) is pure heavy metal heaven, my heart beating faster and faster the longer the song runs! What an opening brace from a band very much on fire, igniting the airways with a power driven, thrash infused heavy metal fury - a fury that's far from over, the band moving into the realm of melodic heavy metal, planting their collective feet firmly on the monitor for the gloriously old school metaller 'Shotgun'. The infectious level has just shot through the fucking roof, Olathia perfectly blending heavy metal and hard rock together with a bombastic barrage of devilish delight to send every listener, fan and follower fucking nuts!    
             
And suddenly, all pace and power is dropped in favour of the mellowness and serenity of balladry, 'Fight' launching with an emotionally driven soulful vocal performance from Chris - and just as I finish writing that, 'Fight' does a one eighty to become a heavy hitting, mid tempo, ground shuddering swagger! Such swagger is surely unnatural - the band causing earthquakes to form all over the world such is their immense and overly powerful nature! Can this album get any better? You bet your bottom dollar it can - 'Who's The Devil' a ferocity laden, high velocity thrash metal gallop! The intensity of the album since it began has been sky high, now rocketing to an even higher level with 'Who's The Devil' - 'The Forest Witch' (the album) just getting better and better.    
             
At over eight minutes in length, 'Last Breath' is by far and away the longest song on offer, and is the most majestic mid tempo march of heaviness you could ever wish for. Imagine for a moment the longer epic songs by legendary metal icons Iron Maiden, and the impact every one of them made. Then double that impact, triple the heaviness and quadruple the intensity - and you might just get somewhere near the sound of 'Last Breath'. Only somewhere near though, cause until you actually listen to it, you've got absolutely no idea of the impact it makes! And returning the thrash driven heavy metal from earlier, 'Satan On My Mind' is a pulsating thunderstorm of immense proportions, rippling oceans to create tidal wave after wave of infectious and sweet spot hitting metal. I'm telling ya readers, my sweet spot's seen some serious action since the album began...    
             
...coming to a climactic conclusion with the final song on offer - a terrific cover of 'Hall Of The Mountain King' by Savatage (taken from the bands 1987 album 'Hall Of The Mountain King'). Olathia are in stunning form here, their version recorded live - not sure when or where - showcasing the bands immense power and energy on stage. The pace is in-line with the original, but the heaviness is so much greater, the impact more immense, the band changing the feel just enough to make every listener think that it's an Olathia original.    
             
Overall, a stunning album of power thrash from a band firing on all cylinders, 'The Forest Witch' is infectious and head bang-able to the max.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Vlad Promotion    
             
             
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