When it comes to metal bands from Cleveland, there are no shortage of artists that capture that old-school death and thrash metal sound while also wrapping things up in an appropriately gory and horror laden aesthetic. Atomic Witch is no exception, as they’ve been offering up fast paced and intense material for the better part of thirteen years, with the first four of those spent under the name Bulk & Skull. The group’s sophomore full length Death Etiquette takes the raging death/thrash of their debut and naturally expands upon the formula, injecting some additional metal styles in ways that make for a memorable listen.
With eight songs that run for twenty-seven minutes in total, it’s clear that Atomic Witch is going for the “less is more” train of death/thrash. Each song comes in fast and heavy, offering plenty of twists and turns in a brief span of time. Considering there are plenty of bands of this type that tend to overstretch things, the brevity is welcome and keeps things pummeling from beginning to end. Death Etiquette is pretty evenly split between the death and thrash ends of the spectrum, with tracks like “Worms and Dirt” showcasing that much sharper and dense thrash sound while “Sabbath Breaker” falls more into an old-school death metal tonality. Other moments bring in some black metal and melodic death metal leads, while closer “Vicious Mistress” has some crossover vibes. The melodies and atmospheric parts help to shake things up a bit more and give that appropriately creepy vibe that suits this type of music well, which played a large part in what drew me back to this album on a regular basis. Admittedly a few of the later songs do have some faster sections that run together, but compared to Crypt of Sleepless Malice there’s even more variety to the instrumentals that make individual moments stand out. The production also is worth mentioning, as Death Etiquette hits hard with a lot of low end but also gives the guitars enough space to reach some high-flying levels of intensity.
There is plenty of substance to the instrumentals for fans of everything death and thrash, but the vocals are what help put Atomic Witch above some of their peers. Granted this could also be what turns some people off depending on their tastes, as the performance moves between lower growls and higher falsettos/shrieks that feel like a cross between Acid Witch and King Diamond. It’s that type of ear piercing and somewhat campy pitch that you’ll immediately notice upon pressing play, and while not every song leans as heavily into the highs it does play a significant role. “Sabbath Breaker” is a great example, as while there are some brief falsettos the core approach is a raspy scream and gang vocals that have a much harsher slant to them. When it comes to death/thrash, I’m a fan of the more rabid and out-there approaches and this made Atomic Witch’s approach very appealing.
There are a few sections that do run together over repeat listens, but this new effort represents a significant step forward for Atomic Witch. They have taken the foundation from their debut full length and earlier efforts and taken it up a notch in terms of riffs and vocals, making this a fun and intense listen from beginning to end. It does have a lot of familiar elements at play, but the way everything is fused together gives Atomic Witch more of an identity and it’ll be exciting to hear how they continue to build on it down the road. Death Etiquette is available from Redefining Darkness Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg