Review Summary: Even with the flaws included, I found Bitchcraft listenable and somewhat enjoyable.
I will say that I came towards this album with low expectations for two reasons. One, who names an album "Bitchcraft"? Two, Dahvie Vanity had tweeted out to the fanbase saying that he was sorry for neglecting the sex and drugs feel that his music used to have, so he promised that the group would be going back to their roots and creating more sexually explicit songs. This nearly steered me away from picking up this album immediately because if they were to completely go back to those days of their career, they would ruin all of the improvement that they have made so far. Thankfully, Dahvie's statement came to be nearly false, as only three of the songs on this album were explicit, and one of which was actually very well-made, but I'll get back to that.
The album started off with an opening instrumental, "Sorcery", and it was pleasant to listen to, yet I didn't see it's need to drag on for a whole minute and thirty seconds. It would have kept my interest more if it were chopped down to about forty-five seconds. Then, the album's title track came on afterwards and caught my attention. "Bitchcraft" had a promising opening, with a slow buildup to a faster beat that hooked me. Dahvie's verse came up next, and kind of had me squint my eyes a bit. The verses had the "other side of the phone line" effect, and it didn't sound too well. The redeeming quality of this song is the chorus, as it has quite a fast tempo, and it goes back to the beginning beat before Dahvie's verse.
The album has a handful of high points, mainly because of the diversity throughout the tracks. "3x3" has a swinging type of beat to it in between choruses, and it really impressed me because I had never heard anything like it out of Blood on the Dance Floor. "Pure ***ing Evil" was a track with a banging intro and a very catchy chorus; it reminded me of "Unchained" from their last album, "Bad Blood". Now, "Call Me Master" may have a very cringe-worthy title, but this song really had me baffled. I was expecting something very atrocious and gross, but the song was very laid back, and only used the f-word thrice, which was in the same spot in each chorus. The song had me going up until Dahvie's rap break after the second chorus, which broke the vibe of the track. If the rap would have been excluded, then this track would have been the example for how to go about a sexually explicit song.
If you want to shoot me now after that, go ahead.
Some low points bring down the score quite a bit, mainly two of the three sex songs. "Poison Apple" starts with the famous excerpt from "In The Hall of the Mountain King", and Dahvie singing along to the melody with some pretty bad lyrics. Although the chorus was okay, the rest of the song just made someone want to vomit, with the lyrics of a song that you might hear from an older album of Blood on the Dance Floor's. Jeffree Star's appearance didn't seem to help at all, but it's what to expect when these two collaborate. "Freaks Do It Better" had me dying out laughing on Dahvie's verse with, "Call me Buffy, bitch / you about to get slayed". "Blaq Magik" had an interesting intro, and I thought it would be pleasing, but next thing I knew, an overly autotuned Jayy von Monroe came on rapping through the first verse and was completely unappealing. I knew that Jayy didn't need the autotune because he has a good voice, so I know that this song would have been better without it. It's pitiful since this song had some potential.
On the whole, this album keeps Blood on the Dance Floor's reputation where it usually is. I have noticed a change in the diversity of the tracks, though, and it was a great turnout for them. With high and low points on the balance beam, I'll say that it is balanced. "Bitchcraft" gets a 2.5/5.
Recommended Tracks:
Bitchcraft
3x3
Pure ***ing Evil
