The Classic Metal Album Review:
Title: Restless & Dead
Artist: Witchery
Label:Necropolis Records
Release Date: 1998

Rating: 4 Skulls
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    • Reviewed by Hel:
    As I pondered what album to select for my classic review this week, I realized this would be the Friday the 13th edition. In light of this, it seemed somehow reasonable and appropriate that I turn the spotlight onto Witchery. On a certain level, it seems utterly insane to me that this is already eligible to be a classic. But the rule is five years, so a classic indeed it is. And considering the fact that with every subsequent release their music has improved, Witchery will certainly be considered a classic band by all eventually, if there are any doubters still to be found.

    Oftentimes, after a band has released a few albums, we look back over the progression the music has made and long for the heaviness, the freshness, of that first album. While, Restless & Dead is certainly a great album, it is most definitely not their best to date, at least not in my book. I believe that their best is Symphony for the Devil, the last release we were favored with. However, to get there, we should start here. And a fine beginning it is.

    Though they apparently touted themselves as a black metal band back then, I’ve always considered Witchery to be, first and foremost, a thrash band. Restless & Dead has always evoked thoughts of classic Bay Area and German thrash legends for me. Regardless of how you decide to categorize them, their defining factor has always been rampaging riffs and that hasn’t change a bit over the years.

    I eagerly await a new offering from Witchery, which is almost always what starts me thinking about a certain band’s back catalog in the first place. I recommend to anyone who has not yet had the pleasure of experiencing the glory of Witchery: start at the beginning, for only by doing so can you truly marvel at not only what a great band they started as, but also how absolutely amazing they have become.
    \/\/
    4 out of 5
    HEL  Email Hel

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