Witchcraft
Legend

Time flies quickly, and ten years have already passed since the eponymous debut album that in 2004 established them as one of the most interesting bands on the European "revival rock" scene. A second effort ("Firewood"), good but lacking the primordial genuineness, up to "The Alchemist," a successful attempt at more complex and "baroque" hard rock. A full five years after their last work, the Orebro combo has returned to the "European revival rock" scene, a musical horizon that is increasingly vast and flourishing. Once again, Witchcraft delivers an album that takes full hands from the times that were, but does so with class, mastery, a good dose of attitude, and the awareness of being one of the most important and established realities of this new scene.

That these four Swedes knew what they were doing was clear from the very first eponymous record, but a decade on from that son, Witchcraft has demonstrated they are not a "shooting star" band capable of disappearing right after a good debut. "Legend" (September 2012) is the work of definitive consecration. The album that seals everything our guys had spawned and built previously: there's the raw and straightforward energy of the beginnings and the researched folk of "The Alchemist," but there's above all a band that now carves its own rock, evidently indebted to the greats, but at the same time capable of forging an independent path. The excellent recording highlights the usual vintage mood, with the two guitars of Tom Jondelius and Simon Solomon reigning. Along with them is the great vocal performance of Magnus Pelander, one of the leading names in the "revival" scene, who has seen an impressive growth behind the microphone since the eponymous debut album.

Accompanying us in Witchcraft's fourth work is a compact and flawless songwriting, that always remains on high levels. From the stoner-like intro of "Flag Of Hate" to the irreverent rhythm of "It's Not Because Of You", passing through the splendid "An Alternative To Freedom", "Ghosts House", and the acid ballad "White Light Suicide". Shining examples of modern rock that have deep roots in the beloved old seventies. Witchcraft manages to evoke that period through a rare compositional mastery. Steering clear of the imperious sound computerization and technological whims of an ever-wider sector of the rock world. Throughout all this, there's also time for the critical tirade of "Democracy" and the final suite "Dead End", probably the episode where the level achieved by the Swedes' songwriting is most significantly showcased and where the influence of Jimmy Page's "gang" is clearest.

"Legend" is an album of absolute level, a little gem in a world invaded by radio laws and "music on commission." "Legend" is a cry of despair in the rock panorama. Imagine an unlikely union between Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin if they were born in the new millennium: they might sound like Witchcraft on "Legend."

1. "Deconstruction" (5:10)
2. "Flag Of Hate" (4:36)
3. "It's Not Because Of You" (4:14)
4. "An Alternative To Freedom" (5:17)
5. "Ghosts House" (4:17)
6. "White Light Suicide" (5:16)
7. "Democracy" (3:49)
8. "Dystopia" (6:46)
9. "Dead End" (12:11)