BURNING WITCHES: The Dark Tower (HEAVY METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Unable in the early days to record two albums in a row with the same musicians, Burning Witches has finally fixed its line-up since guitarist Larissa Ernst replaced Sonia Anubis. It's likely that this unprecedented stability is not unrelated to the success of "The Dark Tower", which features the same quintet already at work on "The Witches Of The North". But unlike "The Witches Of The North", which stalled slightly compared to "Hexenhammer" and especially "Dance With The Devil", this fifth album is far more enchanting.

Of course, the register remains unchanged, i.e. typical '80s heavy metal to which a 100% female cast lends not only obvious charm but also its own particularity. A traditionnal furious opener (the unstoppable 'Unleash The Beast'), the obligatory ballad ('Tomorrow'), reinforced concrete tempo that the Judas Priest of the "Painkiller" era would not disavow ('Evil Witch'), from the high-pitched vocals à la Rob Halford (again), "The Dark Tower" ticks all the right boxes of a pure heavy metal album.

Admittedly, from its cover to its title, the album doesn't exactly shine with originality, but by tightening the handbrake and emphasizing its darker aspects, Burning Witches has unquestionably found its style, as illustrated by a second half of menacing heaviness. 'Into The Unknown', 'The Lost Souls', whose velocity is broken by thick lines, and especially 'Arrow Of Time', a thinly disguised homage to Dio's 'Holy Diver', send the Geiger counter into a frenzy.

Despite two successful cover versions (Ozzy's 'Shot In The Dark' and WASP's 'I Wanna Be Somebody'), which remind us that the girls excel at this, the fact remains that this menu, stretched out over more than an hour, could have been trimmed a little, without one song more than another being easily sacrificed. Too long, the album loses intensity, but this in no way detracts from the very positive impression it ultimately leaves.

With a line-up as stable as it is solid, Burning Witches confirms with "The Dark Tower" that they are definitely not just a commercial operation aimed at seducing a male audience, but a heavy metal band with an unstoppable recipe. - Official website

BURNING WITCHES

THE DARK TOWER

NAPALM RECORDS

HEAVY METAL