Witchcraft: Legend

The first few times I listened to this album it was on headphones at low volume and it came across as a mid-tempo, Sabbathy sounding band. All of the songs were well composed and intriguing. I dug it. Then songs kept asking for repeated listening. I added Legend in my car stereo rotation and...

Game over.

This album deserves to be blasted at maximum volume, it is loaded with riffage. Why didn't I realize this earlier? Simple, their sound. It is clean, aka no distortion or eight string guitars etc.., just an old school clean sound. Nothing on this album sounds modern at first, and therefore I foolishly neglected to crank it up.

All of the songs are well composed, shifting tempos and most importantly setting up the riffs through quiet moments that are the anchor of some of the greatest classic rock songs of all time. What would Stairway to Heaven and No Quarter be without the acoustic passages and mystic lyrics that slowly segue into walls of massive riffs. This album is absolutely loaded with those moments! The part that still blows my mind is the absolute cleanness of all the production and ability to appreciate each instrument's additions to the songs. The singer Magnus has a strong vocal presence and his lyrics are not a tribute or a copy of any forebears of metal, but you can hear how Witchcraft was influenced by the legends of rock.

In the end Legend is a fitting title to album. I think the goal Witchcraft had when composing each song was to make every track a legend in its own, utilizing all of the best dynamics rock history has to offer but serving up a fresh hot dish of metal not a bunch of stale retread ideas.