All female quartet WITCH FEVER has been a household name in Manchester for the last five years. The girls have come a long way since we last saw them at a tiny gig at Alphabet Brewery alongside the punk rock pioneers, The Membranes in 2018. They did fantastically well for themselves, they are now signed to a major label, Music For Nation, an offshoot of Sony. They have new image, new management and new (debut) album on their hands. The triple new did wonders for the band. They are loud as ever, bold as never before and finally able to take on the world.
Official bio: Concocting a potent sonic assault that recalls the foreboding darkness of Black Sabbath, Savages’ monochrome post-punk and the dirty breathlessness of Bleach-era Nirvana, the Manchester quartet create a confrontational racket that takes no prisoners. Refusing to be confined by gender or genre, Witch Fever have always defied expectations as individuals in society. Now, they’re defying expectations as a band. The debut album, “Congregation” is the sound of punk without boundaries of any kind, and with it they are ushering in a new era of heavy music that’s accessible, confrontational and, most importantly of all, a huge pressure release. WITCH FEVER is Amy, Alex, Alisha & Annabelle.
Released on 21st of October, “Congregation” is a mature, serious release that WITCH FEVER can truly be proud of. Nearly an hour of powerful music, 13 songs, dealing with a wide range of topics from politics, society, female issues, personal struggles to influence of power and religion over everyday people. The album was issued in every format, including a multicolour vinyl that is receiving praise from fans online. This is not an indie release anymore; this is a full-fledged debut album from a band on a major label. Careful preparation, beautiful design, excellent delivery – “Congregation” has an phenomenal visual side and each single comes with a fantastically shot video.
Musically, WITCH FEVER offer an exciting, loud and uncompromising grungy, hard rock with a lot of metal flavour. It’s almost like L7 or Babies in Toyland recruited Waldemar Sorychta to produce their next album. Lead singer Amy Walpole has a powerful voice and she knows how to use it – she can be melodic (titular “Congregation”), dramatic and poetic (“Blessed Be Thy”), sweet and almost innocent (“Bloom”) or very angry (“Snare”). She easily switches between high pitch shouts, growls and angelic tones – which is very impressive.
I was very curious how other reviewers would respond to their music, something I came to know very well over the years. Kerrang gave the album four stars out of five, Soundboard awarded it a full set of points and called the quartet an “inspirational goth punk act”. GigWise were also impressed saying that the album was a solid debut and that the band were a powerful live act. Upset and DIY followed with rave reviews naming “Congregation” a brutal and raw grunge-punk material.
It’s quite surprising that almost all reviewers decided to brand WITCH FEVER as a punk band when there is almost nothing punk rocky about their music, at least for me. The band is strongly influenced by American heavy music in general, be it grunge, post grunge, early riot grrrl movement or American heavy metal. This is rarely, if ever mentioned. While “BloodLust” is indeed very “punky” with gritty guitars, shouty vocals and chaotic rhythm section, this is the only song on the entire album that would fit the description of punk. WITCH FEVER are clearly influenced by goth, doom, heavy metal and post core scene of the early 2000’s with members mentioning Slipknot and Bring Me The Horizons as early influences in interviews. They are closer in their music to Hole, L7, Babes in Toyland than to Poly Sterene or Joan Jett for example. If I was to point out British bands that WITCH FEVER could be influenced by, I’d chose The Cure, Siouxsie Sioux, Sisters Of Mercy or maybe My Dying Bride. There is also a lot of European vibes in their music as well with Nina Hagen, Sentenced and others. Music For Nation would be wise to ship them to US or Europe pretty soon on a larger tour – they will do very well on the mainland.
Three songs are standouts from the album. The beautifully crazy “I Saw Dancing”, “SlowBurn” and very groovy “Beauty and Grace” that I have a feeling will be a popular among fans, especially in the moshpits.
I’m very happy seeing WITCH FEVER spreading their wings and moving away from the confinements of local scenes. Bo big or go home, the saying goes. I keep my fingers crossed they truly go globally big.
Record label:
https://www.witchfever.com
https://www.musicfornations.co.uk/artist/660/witch-fever/
Follow Witch Fever online:
https://www.facebook.com/witchfever
https://www.instagram.com/witchfever
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsgn5oXDn_IRBjCjIJ1giCw
https://twitter.com/WITCHFEVER
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Zdd7fqk5jtuMUwE7agpS1?si=NTwqE8o_RyKhQcIA-tlvlg&nd=1
https://soundcloud.com/witchfever
Rita Dabrowicz
Indieterria 