By: Jesse Striewski
Finally, extreme metal has its own brutal version of Steel Panther in the form of Witch Taint (let’s just hope the joke doesn’t get too old too fast as it has for S.P., though). And before any black metal purists cry about how non-black metal they think the band and album are…lighten up!
Videos for the tracks “Are You Ready (To Black Metal),” “Sons of Satan,” and the just-released “Death to Death Metal” (the latter being my personal favorite of the trio) teased the album up until now nicely. Other tracks maintain the sense of humor throughout (there’s short comedy bits n between many songs), while actually containing some fairly epic metal riffs at the same time (“We Are Your New Gods” and “Viking Heaven” would easily fit elsewhere on many a metal album with more serious lyrics). There’s even a pseudo-ballad in the form of “Ready For LVV” that’s downright hilarious.
Comedians Dave Hill and Phil Costello fit perfectly together in their roles as Lance “The King of Black Metal” and Matthias Backwards, respectively. And while the band’s music might have more in common with Tenacious D than it does Belphegor, it’s a welcomed breath of fresh air in a time when we could all use a laugh. Hopefully Witch Taint are able to stick around for awhile, but without over-saturating their own market too much (as previously mentioned), either.
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
