Review by JD on October 19, 2015.

Black metal… even the sound of it evokes a mass of emotions- perhaps fear with respect. I grew up listening to the first strains of BM. Venom, Bathory and early Onslaught were the textbooks of what BM was for me. Now a whole lot of the newer bands are finally looking back at the godfathers of the genre, using that and end up making their music, their own.

Combining an uncanny knack of fusing some amazing yet brutal melodies, harsh blast beats with demon-esque vocals and grinding guitars to form a BM act worth listening to Witchclan pay tribute to the old school of BM. Witchclan also seem to transcend them as well, taking it all to that next worshiping level of ‘eviloution’.

As a one man outfit (Matt Bass), Witchclan is one of the best out there. I kept listening to the album over a few days, revelling in the heaviness and power generated. Going through each track, I became more and more impressed as I went deeper into the album. I found that Matt Bass was not only an exceptional songwriter and instrumentalist, but a venom spitting maniac on vocals and has given me one of my favorite black metal albums in the past few years.

Aside from a few mixing glitches in spots on the CD, Witchclan has offered up a BM album that not just the fans of the sub-genre can get into, but it seems it is accessible to may more of the metal family worldwide. A solid album has come from a very solid artist. It basically says it all, and I for one look forward to what might be next.

Rating: 9 out of 10