Cult of the headless witch - "Cult of the headless witch" ...

While “Cult of the headless witch” may sound like the title to a Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! episode, this unsigned trio from western Sweden are anything but child’s play. With a deadly seriousness and an abiding worship of the riff, Cult of the headless witch blazes a path of traditional doom and glorious heavy metal. Whilst singing in both English and their native Swedish, the boys in Curse of the headless witch (Crister Olsson on guitars, Jimmy Holmberg on drums, and Björn Olzon on bass) manage to bridge the gap between the classic Anglo-Saxon doom of Witchfinder General and epicus metallicus of Sweden’s own Candlemass. Indeed, the finale on Curse of the headless witch—which is entitled “The fallen ones”—bears a striking resemblance to “Bewitched,” Candlemass’s concert standard from 1987’s Nightfall.

This is the big knock on Curse of the headless witch, which is an otherwise fairly good four-track demo. Songs such as “The fallen ones” and the opener “Ghost of the headless witch” reek too much of the band from Stockholm’s brand of operatic, grandiose doom. The fact that Cult of the headless witch are Swedish probably means that they can’t help but to be influenced by Candlemass, but this shouldn’t excuse moments of outright pilfering.

Still, despite session singer Tomas Eriksson’s anemic attempt at being Messiah Marcolin, Cult of the headless witch can be appreciated as a strong harbinger—a clear sign that this oddly named band has a bright future. Tracks such as the Black Sabbath-inspired “Master your fate” and the sharply melodic “En ny tid” showcase Cult of the headless witch’s ability to provide for its listeners quality doom at a quality level. For a demo, Cult of the headless witch is extremely well produced and has that pristine quality that black metal bands despise like unlit churches. Musically speaking, the playing on this demo is reserved, with slow, yet precise riffs that contain no frills or Rococo add-ins. Cult of the headless witch is pretty much bare bones doom without any traces of shoegaze, psychedelia, or stoner rock. This fact alone should appeal to many, especially those in doom metal’s prelapsarian crowd who get nettled when Sabbath’s formula is toyed with too much. For them, Curse of the headless witch is an omen, not a malediction.

Track List:
1.    “Ghost of the headless witch”
2.    “Master your fate”
3.    “En ny tid”
4.    “The fallen ones”

Curse of the fallen witch is currently available as a digital download.

Words: Benjamin Welton

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