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Witch Hunt: Road To Vengeance

    
       
       
       
     
             
Viperwitch are a heavy metal band from the USA formed in 2014 by vocalist/guitarist Danica "Lynx The Huntress" Minor, releasing the bands debut album 'Witch Hunt: Road To Vengeance' in 2024...    
             
...featuring a line-up consisting of bass player Jason "Zeus" Pinero, guitarist William Perkins (Celestial Wizard), and drummer Jacob "Thunderor" Coellen alongside founder Danica, as well as guest musicians Nick Daggers (Celestial Wizard) and Devin Reiche (Anubis, Hatchet, ex Stagewreck). The bands debut album 'Witch Hunt: Road To Vengeance' runs for less than forty minutes and boasts Danica's post-apocalyptic, fantasy literature influences as the "story" of the album unfolds over thirteen songs - well I say thirteen songs, for yes the tracklist does confirm thirteen, although five are instrumentals, two are spoken word compositions, leaving just six songs to really get your teeth into! And even though it's not my intention to appear negative, I know that many readers, listeners and indeed the band are likely to perceive this as negativity, when it really isn't! 'Witch Hunt: Road To Vengeance' is a wide array of short, story telling interludes and atmospheric tension fuelled instrumentals woven around some seriously good old fashioned heavy metal - the kinda heavy metal that was prevalent during metals formative early years, namely the glorious eighties!    
             
So without any more waffle from me, let's see or rather hear what 'Witch Hunt: Road To Vengeance' has to offer - the album opener 'Road To Vengeance: Descendants Of The Gods' the first of the two spoken word compositions, Viperwitch setting the scene with a tension fuelled passage outlining the story surrounding the "Road To Vengeance". And then with a superb old school sounding guitar riff, the first instrumental 'Legend Of The Midnight Rider: Saxon Killer' storms in with a bold, brash nature that brings together the genres of thrash and traditional heavy metal - the album exploding furiously into life with the high velocity 'Hellbound', the level of head bang ability shooting right through the fucking roof! The pace, power and purpose here is phenomenal, Viperwitch sending every mosh pit around the world into a wild frenzy.    
             
Eerie and haunting are two perfect words to describe the atmosphere the instrumental 'The Ritual: Infinite Nocturn Rites' creates, the band sending chills down the spine of every listener everywhere - 'The Viperwitch' oozing the feisty old school metal gallop. The sound of classic heavy metal is a glorious one, Viperwitch adding a tonne of aggressive bite to a timeless sound, every metaller on the planet drooling with excitement thinking heavy metal heaven has arrived! And it has - for now, 'Bathory' mixing NWOBHM elements into the bands already eighties metal feel, the level of head bang ability remaining extremely high! Third instrumental 'Vapor City: Blood & Steel Upon The Silver Tower' is lively and up tempo with an electronic pop metal feel, 'The Huntress' resuming the all out heavy metal attack with added venom - the bold, bombastic barrage demolishing everything and everyone in sight! The aggression and menace here is incredible, yet the band retain a sharp melodious streak to keep 'The Huntress' one step away from a combination of black, thrash, and speed metal.    
             
'Blood Moon' is the second spoken word come story telling composition, mixing tension and anticipation into one highly expectant atmosphere, segueing straight into the rough, hustle and bustle fuelled 'She-Wolves Of The Wasteland'. Still retaining the phenomenal traditional metal feel, Viperwitch plant one foot firmly on the old school heavy metal monitor to adopt both the classic pose and gallop of the greatest genre of music in the world...ever - heavy metal! 'The Proving Grounds: Tooth And Nail', is the fourth instrumental and returns the electronic pop metal feel heard earlier, all the while retaining the sound and aura of 'She-Wolves Of The Wasteland' - in fact, 'The Proving Grounds: Tooth And Nail' could easily have been part of the same song!    
             
At four and a half minutes in length, 'No Gods, No Masters' is the longest song on offer and brings to the fore a doom metal feel not heard previously - for the first forty seconds or so anyway! And then all fucking hell breaks loose as Viperwitch press the accelerator hard to roar off at top speed, the band resuming their heavy, very heavy traditional metal onslaught, every listener, fan and follower head banging furiously to this one - the album coming to a close with the fifth and final instrumental 'Unnumbered Tears: The Reckoning' - more mellow than any of the other four, sounding exactly like a soundtrack that'd be playing over the rolling credits at the end of a movie! Appropriate then that it's right at the end of 'Witch Hunt: Road To Vengeance'.    
             
Overall, a blend of instrumentals, atmosphere and all out galloping heavy metal, Viperwitch deliver an intriguing mix.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal Gods TV    
             
             
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