King Witch - Body of Light (2020)^{Release ID: 20120}

Edinburgh's King Witch have unleashed a bit of a monster with this, their second album. Released two years on from their well-received debut, Under the Mountain, the band have really upped the ante. Body of Light clocks in at a nudge over an hour, but as well as the overall length, the individual tracks are longer and each has expanded to fill all the available space afforded to them. This expanded format really suits the band's epic doom and the extended runtime allows the tracks to resolve themselves more satisfyingly. There is a nice variation in pacing throughout the album, whether it's kicking our asses with killer heavy metal as on the title track opener or Witches Mark or crushing us mercilessly with huge doom riffing as on Of Rock and Stone or Beyond the Black Gate, it does it with a style not all bands have the chops to be capable of.
I guess the band's most obvious feature is Laura Donnelly's amazing vocals, easily one of the most powerful female singers in metal, much in the vein of Benedictum's Veronica Freeman, but that is most definitely not the only selling point with this band. Jamie Gilchrist's guitar work is also outstanding, whether he's shredding a solo or crunching your bones with the force of his riffing, it makes for a powerful twin attack when unleashed alongside Laura's singing. The rhythm section are reliable, strong and on-point and the production is crystal clear, allowing every crunching riff or cymbal crash to be heard distinctly.
An impressive and highly recommended release for any lovers of epic doom or classic metal everywhere.