One of the most infamous British covens returns to exorcise our demons with another fantastic lesson in Doom Metal.

The haunting vocals, heavy riffs, fuzzed bass and savage drumming blasted by the infamous British Occult Stoner/Doom Metal coven known as Dead Witches are back for our total delight in 2019 in their brand new sophomore opus titled The Final Exorcism, a follow up to their 2017 extravaganza Ouija. The brainchild of drummer Mark Greening, founding member of Electric Wizard, Ramesses and With The Dead, Dead Witches took the underworld of heavy music by storm with their debut album in 2017, but it’s now with The Final Exorcism that the quartet sounds even more powerful, damned and gloomy, just the way we like it in Doom Metal.

Featuring the aforementioned Mark on drums accompanied by bassist Carl Geary and newcomers Soozi Chameleone (from Satlan) on vocals and Oliver Irongiant (from Grave Lines, Sea Bastard and End the Agony) on the guitar, replacing Virginia Monti and Greg Elk (R.I.P.), respectively, The Final Exorcism is not only the epitome of everything Dead Witches stand for, but a highly recommended album for admirers of devilish and cryptic doom who simply love the night. Put differently, get ready to be dragged down to pitch black darkness with over 40 minutes of classic Doom Metal made in England split into seven distinct and beautifully crafted songs embraced by the somber artwork by Goatess Doomwych, who had already worked with the band in their previous effort.

A cryptic, horror movie-inspired intro named There’s Someone There sets the stage for the sluggish and grim title-track The Final Exorcism, where Oliver begins his riff-attack together with Carl’s reverberating bass punches, all enfolded by Soozi’s sexy and hellish vocals and roars. In other words, this is first-class neck-breaking Doom Metal, offering our ears over seven minutes of somber and atmospheric passages, pounding beats and endless obscurity. And the distorted guitar lines by Oliver keep dictating the rhythm in Goddess Of The Night, while Mark does what he knows best, which is smashing his drums slowly, steadily and fiercely. In addition, Soozi sings like she’s the true goddess of the night, embellishing the airwaves with her damned vocals. Then Dead Witches ask a simple question to us in the wicked When Do The Dead See The Sun, with the answer being quite easy (obviously never), and the music translates that fact into sheer melancholy, feeling like it was taken from a Tarantino movie and, consequently, warming up our senses for The Church By The Sea, where Mark and Carl generate a massive wall of sounds with their weapons while Soozi will put you on a trance in this Sabbath-inspired Doom and Stoner Metal aria. Also, don’t forget to check out this sick live footage recorded on February 22, 2019 during their performance at Heavy Psych Sounds Fest at The Borderline, in London. It’s doom in its rawest form.

The last part of the album is just amazing, starting with Lay, Demon, a brutal and visceral Doom Metal hymn led by Mark’s Stygian beats, while Oliver and Carl keep extracting absolute evil from their strings. “Lay, Demon was the second track that we wrote for the new record, The Final Exorcism,” said Mark. “This is a slab of old-school doom, with a heavy crushing swing to it, as it plods along to cast out any evil spirits that have entered your soul. Vocalist Soozi Chameleone adds lyrics that tell the tale of a demonic romance, and what happens when you become entranced by an evil spirit …”; whereas in Fear The Priest the whole band summons our spirits for one final exorcism, with its bass and riffs sounding menacing and thunderous from start to finish. Furthermore, the music remains disturbing and alluring for over nine minutes, with Soozi once again stealing the spotlight with her demonic vocal performance. As Mark himself said about this feast of blackened sounds, “Fear The Priest was the last track to be written to complete the album, the idea of the track is based around demonic possession, good vs evil, the fear the possessed person has towards the priest, it’s the longest track on the album, the riffs are pure evil and I think it’s the perfect track to let people know what to expect from the new album.”

You can have a blast with Dead Witches by listening to their brand new sonic exorcism in full on YouTube, by following them on Facebook, by subscribing to their YouTube channel or by listening to more of their music on Spotify, as well as of course by purchasing The Final Exorcism from the Heavy Psych Sounds Records’ BandCamp or webstore, from iTunes or from Amazon. It doesn’t really matter how you do it, as long as you join this talented coven hailing from the UK, a place where dark and damp days, exorcisms and doom are just around the corner waiting, readily available for everyone who loves top-of-the-line dark and sluggish metal music and whose soul has already been consumed by darkness and evil.

Best moments of the album: The Final Exorcism and Fear The Priest.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2019 Heavy Psych Sounds Records

Track listing
1. There’s Someone There 0:35
2. The Final Exorcism 7:32
3. Goddess Of The Night 8:08
4. When Do The Dead See The Sun 1:38
5. The Church By The Sea 7:33
6. Lay, Demon 5:47
7. Fear The Priest 9:29

Band members
Soozi Chameleone – vocals
Oliver Irongiant – guitar
Carl Geary – bass
Mark Greening – drums