Witchcraft –Nucleus

2016, we made it. Insert new year cliché along with a hefty list of resolutions and plans for our next trip around the sun, here.  All right, joking aside, a new year does mean new music, and 2016 is looking mighty fine so far. When I first learned that Sweden’s Witchcraft would be releasing their fifth studio album within the first month of the new year, I was pretty excited, to say the least.  The band’s previous effort, Legend, is one of doom’s finest offerings in recent memory – a record that holds as one of my favorites of all-time, in fact. Given my enthusiasm and excitement for Legend, it is reasonable that I could hardly wait for its successor.

Enter Nucleus. Upon first listen, I was immediately drawn to a familiar slow, mesmeric gloom that this band delivers so well. Album opener, “Malstroem”, sets the unholy mood. At over eight minutes long, it takes a few twists and turns that provide a glimpse towards what this record has in store. Listeners are treated to a continuation of the refined Witchcraft sound that debuted with the release of Legend in 2012, as well as new elements that are thrown into the mix. Nucleus starts strong with this track, and it is one of my favorites on the record. Having said this, it does not progress quite as expected, which may leave some fans of the band disappointed.

Although Nucleus undoubtedly has some memorable moments, I was not as enthralled with this release as I thought I would be. Understand that the album is not bad or even mediocre by any stretch of the imagination. It is a solid effort that is undoubtedly deserving of your time and attention. (Read: buy it). However, Witchcraft is an outfit that I hold to an exceedingly high standard. After hearing what they have accomplished in the past, I feel that Nucleus falls just short when analyzing it from beginning to end. Short of what? I’m not too sure, but there is something slightly amiss. This is not to belittle what the band has harnessed this time around in any sense, but rather to show what I believe they are capable of producing.

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There are definitely tracks on Nucleus that I consider to be excellent. “The Outcast”, which was the album’s first single, is a song that I have been excited about since I first heard it. To be quite honest, it is probably one of the best songs I’ve heard in awhile. Great riffs, divine rock n’ roll grooves, and some flute peppered in will undoubtedly have you moving your head to the beat at some point during its 5 minutes and 56 seconds. Other cuts such as “An Exorcism of Doubts”, “The Obsessed”, and “Helpless” also contain catchy, heavy structures that will send a variety of emotions through you as you listen. This band proves to jell effectively and is determined to hit hard in every sense. Vocalist Magnus Pelander conveys his points assertively in a tone of voice that is instantly recognizable as well as brilliantly hypnotic.

All of the pieces for a spectacular heavy metal/hard rock album are present within Nucleus. However, it is an album that I will most likely revisit in segments. This is opposed to Legend, which I find myself listening to from start to finish more often than not. Chunks of filler are too prevalent this time around, making the music drawn out when consumed in full. Perhaps my interpretation of Nucleus will change with each listen, and I hope it does.

Witchcraft continue to experiment and create music that is interesting overall, and they definitely won me over with their interesting approach from the very first notes to travel through me.  Nucleus, although dragged out in spots, certainly remains true to what this band intends to secure. Witchcraft continues to stylistically shepherd the mind towards reflection as well as send vibrations of doomish evil through your existence. This latest release has prompted me to dig deeper into the band’s catalog in the near future, an undertaking I have been interested in for some time now. But for the time being, Nucleus is worth a few more listens. The album is solid despite a few gaps in activity, and I do not mind taking the time to understand its message more clearly. In fact, I strongly encourage it.