Post Mortem Superstar's album "Which Witch Wroughts" (2021) is an interesting exploration of different music styles with an underlying red line provided by its blackened death metal foundation.
Looking at the cover art and the band's name, one might think "Which Witch Wroughts" is your standard, straightforward death metal. However, the album packs more than a few surprises throughout its 35 minute runtime.
The album kicks off with "The Anatomist" - an opening that gives the listener a confirmation that this is, indeed, death metal. However, about half way through the song, the band suddenly switches the heavily distorted guitars and double kick drum beats to a clean, atmospheric section, instantly distinguishing it from the tropes of the genre. The clean section also works as a transition to the latter half of the song, which emphasizes the use of black metal elements - mainly in the form of screeching, high pitched vocals that truly send chills across your spine. The addition of the synth choir provides a layer of ambience under the powerful, distorted insrumentation which brings the song to an end.
"Invisible Corpse" brings back the clean guitars, even slower and more atmospheric this time. The next surprise comes when the clean baritone vocals kick in - a style more reminiscent of goth rock. Harsher metal elements are introduced into the song a couple of times, but the majority of the track remains in this atmospheric clean style - a decision that I greatly appreciate.
The following track "Shotgun Lobotomy" starts with pure death metal worship, only bringing back the clean guitars towards the end of the song. The hook of the ending section is the vocalist chanting the track's name in an almost catchy manner - something i could see being a highlight on a live gig. "Ululations In the Ether" keeps up the theme of painting atmospheres with clean tones, while utilizing the blackened vocal style once metal riffs kick in. "The Steps of Life" continues along the same lines, with more aggression in the instrumentation. The last track "Plight of the Crying Cadaver" acts as an instrumental outro, complete with lo-fi sound and vinyl crackle - an atmospheric ending to a largely atmospheric album.
Overall "Which Witch Wroughts" is a surprisingly refreshing exploration of transcending genre boundaries and styles. The mixture of clean elements and heavy riffs is well balanced, offering variation between parts while retaining cohesion.
Rating: 4/5
Get the album here:
Tracklist:
1. The Anatomist 05:44
2. Invisible Corpse 07:44
3. Shotgun Lobotomy 06:46
4. Ululations in the Ether 05:53
5. The Steps of Life 06:30
6. Plight of the Crying Cadaver 02:02
Follow the band on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/PostMortemSuperstar/
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