Witchslayer is a legendary heavy metal band from Chicago. Their appearance on Metal Massacre 4 back in 1983 certainly raised a lot of eyebrows. Many predicted great things for Witchslayer. Nothing happened, the band couldn’t keep it together and fell into cult obscurity.
In the recent years, the voice of the band, Jeff Allen, put together a new line up, and decided to record the old tracks. That’s how this album finally came to be. The material was already there, the big task here was to properly record the songs and do them justice. After hearing several advanced tracks, and finally the finished album, the mission was definitely accomplished. The albums maintains the classic sound the old fans grew up with, and with material this good attracting new fans should not be a problem.
The songs on this album are nearly 40 years old. They sound and feel exactly like the tracks from that time frame. The new line up did a superb job bringing these songs to life, and finally making them available to a wider audience. The album has a classic sound written all over it. It’s Chicago style metal at its best!
While Jeff Allen did a great job overseeing the whole operation, it’s the guitarist, Ken Mandat, who appears to be a critical piece of the puzzle here. Mandat has the right chops, sound, and feel, but he was also a functioning musician during Witchslayer’s initial run. Mandat played in Damien Thorne in the early 80s, and he’s still keeping that band alive. What Mandat brings to the table is that understanding of what Chicago heavy metal should sound like. It may sound very insignificant, but when you take him away you get a completely different sounding record. Add a very solid rhythm section consisting of Gabriel Anthony on drums, and Mick Lucid on bass, and you got yourself a band on fire!
The album is a great listen all the way through. Naturally the published demo songs do stand out, but as a whole, the record sounds very even. Time after time, it still rocks the same. The production is great too. It’s not too modern sounding, just perfect for what this material requires.
Congratulations to Jeff Allen for never letting go of his vision, and making this impossible task finally happen. This is a long overdue release of great songs that otherwise would’ve been forgotten. Now a new generation of fans can enjoy this great music. The spirit of Witchslayer is alive and well!
Mark Kadzielawa
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