Wykked Witch: The Ultimate Deception

When I was in Junior High, I listened to two songs every day before walking to school--Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" and Metallica's "Fade to Black." I can't say exactly what impact those songs had on me, other than helping me develop a lasting taste for hard rock and heavy metal. I can say that there was just something powerful about them that eased some of the anxieties I felt about growing up, gaining new friends, and worrying about the future. In those days, Metallica hadn't even released Master of Puppets, let alone The Black Album. Those who knew them loved them for their aggressiveness, their power, and, of course, their guitar solos.

I mention all this because The Ultimate Deception includes a cover of "Fade to Black" that I'm sure will attract both positive and negative reactions from listeners. I should point out that Wykked Witch isn't trying to recreate "Fade to Black" exactly as it appeared on Ride the Lightning. After all, they are a female-fronted extreme metal band that fuses together sounds drawn from black metal, melodic metal, and what I can only call sheer aggressiveness. Their "Fade to Black" can't repeat Metallica's version, but it can respond to it, as though demonstrating the ways Metallica has worked their sound into new generations of listeners. In this case, Ipek's vocals play with the spaces between verses to scream alongside the rapidly battering drumming by Kevin Talley. For listeners new to Wykked Witch, I'd recommend starting by listening to "Fade to Black" since it takes a familiar melody and gives it a new overall sound.

The rest of The Ultimate Deception is a solid mixture of black metal rage mixed with some interesting melodic interludes. At times, this band channels the melodic lines of early Judas Priest or even Iron Maiden. Don't get me wrong--this is heavy metal at its most modern and extreme. Nevertheless, Wykked Witch has the feel of a band that likes to nod to the past while it charts the way of the future. This is probably as close as extreme metal gets to a successful blend of commercial-sounding songwriting with the experimentation and rebellion of the underground. Keep your eye on Wykked Witch.

Track Listing
1. Birthing the Beast
2. The Ultimate Deception
3. Serpents Among Us
4. Despised Existence
5. Prayers of the Decapitated
6. When the Sleepers Rise
7. Ecstasy
8. Fade to Black
9. Abolish the Weak
10. Eyes of a Vulture

Added: January 31st 2012
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band website
Hits: 2378
Language: english

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