Review by Fernando on December 21, 2022.

The Polish metal scene has consistently been building momentum off the back of many heavy hitters getting the spotlight, and even in 2022 that doesn’t seem to be stopping any time soon, and today we have another underground cult making the rounds, featuring none other than Inferno from Behemoth fame to boot. Witchmaster is the name of this war machine, and this is their sixth LP, Ka​ź​ń, released through Agonia Records.

So, Witchmaster are a black/thrash band that was formed in Poland but has since had its main members relocate to the UK, and yes, the band indeed features Inferno who is best known as the drummer for Behemoth, and while that band has become very divisive, none deny that Inferno’s drumming is outstanding and consistent. However, we are not talking about Behemoth, and while Inferno does indeed play drums here (and quite well, unsurprisingly), he also displays his skills as a shredder. The band as a whole has actually existed since the late 90’s and gone through many incarnations, and despite remaining an underground act, they have maintained a strong enough presence to have featured many veterans from the Polish scene, aside from Inferno.

The band is known for their relentless style of militant black/thrash which just barely avoids crossing the threshold into war metal, and on this record they do a good job of still maintaining that aggression while bolstered by better production. This is a heavy an intense record and it wastes no time. After a very, very brief intro track the record just explodes and keep thrashing from beginning to end, it's actually impressive how after almost two decades and moving to another country, the band is still able to produce some unswervingly violent black/thrash, that’s also somewhat dynamic, as the band also displays a good command of heavy and lurching midpace sections, and even some groove laden riffs. Furthermore, the band also still maintains the brief, but substantial pace of their songs, which is also in line with classic thrash metal and hardcore punk. And that’s also something that I did noticed about this record, it's very punkish, aside from the 14 song tracklist and some of the more groove centric moments in songs, this is a very punk record due to how all the songs present savagery and aggression in brief but very substantial bursts, and the band consistently deliver such aggression for all of its under 40 minute duration. No song lasts longer than it needs to, and the performances are appropriately intense. Inferno is a main standout, his drumming is very powerful and aggressive, a stark contrast from his very technical drumming in Behemoth, but his guitarwork is also very good. He and founding guitarist Kali, do a good tag team of riffs and hooks, which is bolstered by also founding bassist and vocalist Reyash, whose bass is pounding and thick, and then all is rounded by lead vocalist Bastis whose dry vocals and shouts are as demonic as ever. All in all, the band have their performances and overall cooperation sharpened to deadly effect, as there’s no sense of filler or lagging whatsoever, they come in, wreck the place, and leave.

With all that being said, one thing that I would consider a con in this record is how monotonous it is. Granted, the band staying true to their thrash and punk edge might be a reason why their record is so uniform and singular in sound, the problem for me lies in how the record is very aggressive and strident, and not much else. This record would be amazing to hear live and mosh too, for sure, but as a whole, I would have to be on a very specific mood to truly enjoy it. At the end of the day it comes down to personal preference, but then there’s the track 'Rune Of Destruction', which is my favorite track on the record. This is their most thrash and by extension punk song, it has all the elements that I praised from the record as a whole, but it's also the most dynamic, with d-beats, and much more catchy riffs, while I can understand the band preferring to have more dissonant riffs and focus on aggression over dynamism, that track scratched a particular itch the rest of the record didn’t, but again, that’s just my preferences and biases.

Overall, Witchmaster continues to be a consistently reliable band to get your blasphemous fix of violent black/thrash, all the members perform at the top of their game and there’s enough material with just enough variety to play this at high volumes. While I would’ve liked the band to vary up their sound more, they still deliver a good record regardless.

Best tracks: 'Rune Of Destruction', 'Trails of Blood', 'Zdychaj K**** Nazareńska', 'Circle Of Bayonets'

Rating: 7.3 out of 10