Normally when bands collectively cite the Occult and similarly nihilistic, darker themes as direct sources of inspiration for their songwriting, the music tends to be a lot doomier and less upbeat than anything on Witchskull's sophomore effort,
Coven's Will. Indeed, as vocalist Marcus de Pasquale admitted in recent interviews, his life has revolved around an obsession for collecting books wholly based on the Occult, since his pre-teenage years in fact. Yet even when announcing that "Music is a high art form", his words are questionable considering that most of Witchskull's music consists of such youthful exuberance, far removed from bands typically pumped into the doom/stoner sub-genres.
In spite of how supercharged and driven every one of
Coven's Will's eight tracks are, Marcus' wailing vocal presence and the obvious lyrical content certainly produce a lasting impression that this is a band that have stuck to particular recurrent themes. "Raven", the album's opener but also shortest song is the closest thing to stoner rock on the album, yet the lyrics seem to be a prayer to the blackbird of choice. Marcus seemingly pleads with the subject matter to "Tempt me with your strangeness, a beast with sullen eyes", an aspect which is practically a flipside of the soaring instrumentation. This lyrical content is maintained throughout the album-The vocal presence and musicianship, is not. Sometimes there are moments where the riff work is so intense and in-your-face that Marcus' vocals simply get buried in the mix, notwithstanding the pressure he puts on himself to soar above the recording. "Son of the Snake" seems rife with noise and psychedelic touches but seems to forget that Marcus is trying to wail his unmistakeably youthful-sounding voice into oblivion, yet because of the slightly imbalanced mix this never simply comes into fruition. "Spyres" suffers the same minor flaw, but at least provides room to breathe with quieter, more laidback territory now and again, allowing Marcus to finally get back into top gear with his department.
Whilst there are songs here closely linked to stoner rock, the groovier and more bass-focused "Priestess" and "Breathing Blue Light" aim for a more menacing power which definitely reflects the nihilism of the subject matter at hand. "Priestess" is perhaps a better example of this, seeming relentless with its slow-paced albeit maniacal rhythm work spiralling into chaos. It also suits Marcus' vocal style a little better, whereas elsewhere he would be working hard to put himself on an equal level to the rhythmic battery. "Breathing Blue Light" begins in similar fashion to "Priestess", but within a couple of minutes bounces around joyously and reminds us all of those first two songs
Coven's Will offers us. It works to the band's advantage however, remaining fluent and consistent rather than hesitant in terms of delivery. Arguably the best song of the album however comes in the form of closer "The Empty Well", which seems to have allowed the band to pour all their dark energy into the melting pot and come up with one of the most threatening riff sections they've ever done. The six minute length doesn't feel any longer than the previous seven songs, and instead projects the listener full throttle into a time vortex dating back to 1971 when Sabbath decided to design the perfect album closer in "Into the Void". The sentiments with both songs are similar, that's for sure.
This sophomore effort sees Witchskull not so much broadening their horizons or stretching their wings, but rather building on what worked with the band's debut and channelling more aggression, confidence and drive into
Coven's Will. Next time, assuming the vocals won't be slightly buried in the mix behind the understandably menacing riff work, a third, more balanced record will see Witchskull have a bigger range of interest in the underground scene. As it stands however,
Coven's Will is the best sophomore effort to expect from a band that have only been around for four years.
