“The flesh and bone the body and wine.“
Over the duration of 2022 it has been difficult to ignore the rise of Witch Fever, and notice their potential to become the one of the leading faces of punk in the UK. Off the back off 2021 EP, Reincarnate, the Manchester unit have seen a wave of deserved recognition, and tour slots up and down the country. Supporting the likes of Cancer Bats alongside fellow risers Graphic Nature, as well as numerous festival appearances including Outbreak Festival and 2000 Trees, and of course their short stadium stint with emo legends My Chemical Romance, there is an excitement around Witch Fever that hasn’t been seen in a punk band for a while. This has levied a certain level of expectation upon their debut full-length, Congregation.
Since the release of its epic title track that ushered in Congregation‘s announcement, there has been a slow build of anticipation around its release. Its predacious guitars that layer in a tension that is waiting to snap, accompanied by a brooding bass line. Eventually exploding on the chorus led by Walpole‘s sermon-esque delivery, it ensures “Congregation” an early high bar set for what is to come from the quartet. Earlier single “Blessed By Thy” further displayed Witch Fever‘s ruthless edge, with each element seemingly pushing their limits on an exploding opener. With Congregation refusing to let up on “Beauty and Grace“, Thompson’s ruminating bass leads the charge on the heavy hitting cut.
Near mid-point track “Deadlights” offers up a rough-edged refresher that leans into heightened reverb, alongside some juicy guitar riffs. As Walpole cries out “You’ll see those lights,” then enters its frantic pay-off, that unfortunately leads into far too quick of an exit for the track. Later track “Snare” is a pit-inducing foray that sees guitarist Yarwood pull off spectacular performance, with a tantalising pull to the riffs as they crash around with a forceful energy. Further to this, “Bloodlust” perhaps offers up the record’s heaviest moments, with war-drum style pounds on the drum toms sitting alongside some angular riffs, with lyrics such as “I’m not some piece to claim” longing to be shouted back during live sets.
Congregation offers up more paced moments, especially with penultimate track “Slow Burn“. Singing “It’s your eyes, your eye“, it enters an almost lullaby-esque manner that becomes entrancing as the track continues, backed with whirling and elevating guitars. With “I Saw You Dancing” leaning into a similar structure to “Congregation“, arguably perhaps too much, it sees the return of the slowed strings that build an atmosphere within the track.
In this, it does perhaps open up Congregation‘s strongest and weakest elements. There is no doubt that it does an utterly fantastic job of creating a gothic and haunting atmosphere, with its narrative of exploring experiences with the Charismatic Church. Sonically, it does hit the same note and structure slightly too much across its 13 tracks though, with tracks “Market“, “At The Core” and “Bloom” largely blending into the background of the record’s over-arching sound. While it would be unfair to fault them in their own right, they suffer from simply being too similar what has been heard across Congregartion.
This shouldn’t sully the impact of Witch Fever’s debut record, though, with anthemic tracks “Sour” and “12” becoming war-cries against systematic abuse, offering an outlet to protest it. There is a courage to Congregation that is commendable and the performance of its tales have a rooted emotion and rawness that act as its core. While the desire for variation might leave too much of a lasting feel to Congregation, deeper inspection does leave a record that shows true talent and presents Witch Fever as a blue-chip prospect in the UK.
7.5/10
Congregation is out this Friday via Music For Nations, and you can pre-order the record here.