Review Summary: An album that should be, but sadly isn't, a classic
Most genres of music have plenty of successful bands, but not NWOBHM. NWOBHM is a subgenre of metal that has very clear winners and losers. Iron Maiden, Saxon, Judas Priest (debatably NWOBHM), and Def Leppard were the winners. No other band else even comes close to matching the popularity of those aforementioned giants. However, the genre has a very dedicated following, the type of following usually reserved only for bands. One of the bands that has benefited heavily from this cultish obsession with NWOBHM is Witchfynde. While still not one of the big bands, their music has at least garnered some attention, enough for it to be on Spotify and YouTube for us to find easily, and I'm glad that it is because Witchfynde is one of my favorite bands ever.
With "Satanic" imagery as this album's artwork, most would expect Witchfynde to be yet another Venom clone, however that couldn't be further from the truth. This album is filled with relatively light grooves rather than the intense speed Venom has. This makes them almost sound like a jam band on steroids rather than a true metal band. This is best shown on the song "The Divine Victim" which has a very spaced out riff and generally light atmosphere despite the distorted guitars. This light approach to songwriting is countered by the production, which is grimy and lo-fi. This helps add a bit of grit that the songwriting alone simply does not provide. Speaking of the songwriting, it's mostly fantastic. There are odd moments where the riffs don't exactly sound like they “make sense”, the melodies become disjointed with the rhythm section in a way that doesn’t feel natural, but these are far and few between. Most of the riffs are interesting and every member has interesting parts. The drumming is simplistic, but does a great job of building suspense and add a good amount of energy, even to songs whose tempo is fairly slow. There are also a decent number of times that the music breaks the mold and slows down. While they never take this as far as later metal bands such as Agalloch would do, they still are different from the albums usual sound and tone to make them interesting, but not too many that it feels like two albums of different genres were spliced together like some kind of musical Frankenstein's monster.
The thing that really makes this album stand out for me though is its general tone. When talking about NWOBHM, the first thing that pops into most people's minds is the relative cheesiness of it. Bands suchs Loudness are wonderful, but not exactly remembered for being "serious" music. While I think metal in general has an intrinsic cheesiness about it, this band is a far argument against that. It finds a great balance between taking itself seriously, but still having complete fun with their Satanic imagery. It never gets to Gorgoroth levels of seriousness that it's funny, but never quite being Saxon either. It's never too silly or too serious for its own good, and this alone makes this album fairly unique. However, this doesn't mean it doesn't have its moments, and there are at least a handful of times that the lyrics just get too over the top. Still, they aren't too often and don't detract much from the album as a whole.
Overall, “Give ‘Em Hell” is a great album that should be a classic of the genre. As unfortunate as their lack of success might be, that does nothing to take away from this album's greatness. If you’re looking for an album to help you transition from rock to metal, this is a great album. If you’re looking for an album that balances seriousness and fun, look no further. If you’re a human who enjoys music, this is a record for you. Even if you have already made up your mind about metal and aren’t a fan, I recommend giving this album at least some chance, as it really is the kind of album that potentially can change minds.
R.I.P. @heavymetaljuice
