Witchery

Don’t Fear The Reaper

[2/5] After unleashing one of the most vicious debuts in metal history with 1998’s Restless And Dead, and then following it up a year later with the equally merciless, mostly covers EP Witchburner, Swedish thrash masters Witchery fell off their collective broomstick with 1999’s Dead, Hot And Ready and never fully recovered. Released in 2001, Symphony For The Devil kicked the shit out of its predecessor with catchier jams and smokin’ black-metal ’n’ roll riffs, but Don’t Fear The Reaper sounds like the last gasp of a band who never really got their swerve on. Maybe it’s a result of guitarist Patrik Jensen’s membership in the Haunted; perhaps it’s because of bassist Sharlee D’Angelo’s commitment to both half the bands in Sweden (e.g., Arch Enemy, Spiritual Beggars, Dismember) and Mercyful Fate. Whatever the case, Don’t Fear The Reaper is (mostly) a stylistic pantomime of records past, with none of the killer songs and about a third of the sweet riffs.
(CENTURY MEDIA) J. Bennett