Witchfinder General
Death Penalty (CD) 1982 Heavy Metal
Being described as a NWOBHM band, mainly because they came up in early 80's in Britain, this band was featured on those classic NWOBHM compilations. But now Witchfinder General stands for something else. They are a cult band that is bonded with the creation of the doom-metal genre among with other classic US bands like St. Vitus or Pentagram. In the scene they came up from, there were other bands that were influenced by Black Sabbath, like Witchfynde, Quartz or Angel Witch, but on Witchfinder General's music, this influence is most evident. They were probably the heaviest band in the scene. 'Death Penalty' is their debut, where there is more of a Sabbathian hard rock influence than on 'Friends of Hell', which is more metal. One could describe their sound as jamming Sabbath doom rock, as the pace is usually more mid paced than slow. The songs are very groovy and they have a slightly psychedelic edge, mostly due do the distinctive style of Phil Cope's guitar work. Vocalist Zeeb Parkes, sings in the caracteristic Ozzy inluenced style, but less tortured and moaning. The band name and the very cool album cover (a woman -with her dress conveniently torn- being poked by the band members) make it clear that lyrically they are inspired by occult themes. This album was released on CD in 1996. If you are a fan of 80's doom and you are lucky enough to find this album go and get it, it's a classic.	1. Invisible Hate 2. Free Country 3. Death Pentalty 4. No Stayer 5. Witchfinder General 6. Burning a Sinner 7. R.I.P. 8. Soviet Invasion 9. Rabies 10. R.I.P. (Live) Approx. 35 minutes
Guest review by: baron-sam
Friends of Hell (CD) 1983 Heavy Metal
Witchfinder General is considered to be one of the more important bands connected to the formation of doom-metal. Although their impact has been perhaps less than that of bands like Black Sabbath and Pentagram it will be hard to find any older doomster who does not know of Witchfinder General. This is their second full length and again the cover shows the band torturing half nude women (and you new metal fans thought Napalm records where the first to think of putting naked women on the covers of metal cds to sell them to overly hormonal metal kids huh?). Compared to their debut this one is perhaps a bit more metal and a little less rock. But all in all both releases are clearly identifiable. If you like one, you're bound to like the other. Overall the band plays mid-tempo songs and mix in that early Sabbathy vibe with more just good old NWOBHM. This is also why they at the time of release were considered to be just NWOBHM and the doom tag only came later. Al through I have also heard that Kerrang! Magazine at the time already mentioned them as being doom-metal (using the term far before Candlemass released their debut album). I myself am also a tad hesitant to call this pure doom-metal to be honest. I know with this I'll tread on the souls of a lot of old doom hippies, but to me this at most is "proto-doom". I love Witchfinder General, especially as it gives me a lot of fond memories of when I first got into metal and the type of bands I enjoyed back then (I discovered Witchfinder General much later however). It reminds me of the good old heavy metal days, injected with a good dose of Sabbath-like riffs. I believe them to be influential on the development off doom-metal and you can hear doomy riffs all over the place. The overall concept and feel of the music however to me remains NWOBHM alike. As such I find the description "proto-doom" to be best suited. I'll patiently wait for the "old doomsters lynching party" who I am sure will disagree with me on this. All in all this is a great and high quality early 80'ties proto doom release and it is part of doom-metal's history. If your into NWOBHM alike doom, or riffing doom you probably already know and own this, so I won't need to tell you to buy it. If you`re a newer doom fan and want to go on a trip through time and learn a bit about doom-metal's past, this is a definite release to check out (together with their debut album).	1. Love on Smack 2. Last Chance 3. Music 4. Friends of Hell 5. Requiem for Youth 6. Shadowed Images 7. I Lost you 8. Quietus Reprise Approx. 36 minutes
Reviewed by: Aldo Quispel