Witchfinder General - Soviet Invasion! (1982)^{Release ID: 6536}

Amazingly, by 1982 the metal world was still yet to experience a release that genuinely defined a new subgenre in the same way that Black Sabbath's self-titled debut did when Tony Iommi first hit those three epic downstrokes notes way back in 1970. To put that into perspective, that means that the first twelve years of metal had passed by without anyone really pushing the sound into places that it hadn’t already gone before. But that was about to change, & things would gradually start to escalate over the next few years too.

To go into more detail, Black Sabbath may have defined the heavy metal sound through songs like “Black Sabbath” & “N.I.B.”, but they also hinted at an even darker & gloomier sound at times without ever really embracing it for more than a couple of songs here & there. I think it would be fair to say that Sabbath were an artistically expansive & quite an ambitious band & that’s why they were so instrumental in the formation of so many of the subsequent metal subgenres, but they never spent too long sitting on their laurels. Later in the mid-70’s, bands like Pentagram & Bedemon would take that doomier sound & expand it into something more targeted, but neither managed to get their shit together for long enough to enable them to release that seminal record that would put this new sound (known as doom metal) on the map. That honour would have to wait until 1982 when a young four-piece NWOBHM band from Stourbridge in West Midlands, England put out their debut single entitled “Soviet Invasion!”.

Witchfinder General's first-up three-song affair featured two studio recordings in the title track & “Rabies” as well as a live recording of a song called “RIP”. It was a fairly low budget effort but all of the elements of what we now expect from the traditional doom metal sound were there nonetheless: the monotonous & heavy playing style of early Black Sabbath, the deathly slow tempos, the repetitive & sometimes atonal guitar riffs, the “rocking to sleep” bass lines, the blues rock & psychedelic rock influences, the cold & grief-stricken vocal approach & the dark & depressing lyrical content. All of these factors contributed to the birth of a new concept in metal & one that would change fairly minimally over the years but would build a legion of devoted followers who craved ever more destitute & down-trodden hymns for the damned. But that wasn’t to say that Witchfinder General had stumbled across an all-time classic release here. It was certainly ground-breaking from a conceptual point of view but I wouldn’t say that it was particularly note-worthy from a quality one.

The title track is comfortably the best of the three songs included. It begins with a lovely sweet acoustic guitar section that lulls the listener into a false sense of security before the impending arrival of the crushingly heavy down-tuned guitar riff onslaught of Phil Cope. Phil’s riffs really do sound extremely heavy for the time. He’s managed to tap into Tony Iommi’s riff library & stole what could only be described as some of Tony’s most disconsolate work. There’s nothing bright or uplifting about the guitar sound either. It sounds genuinely depressing but not in a bad way. For this is a point worth noting about doom metal in general. Its fans seem to take solace & a general feeling of empowerment from all of the negativity presented to them. It’s a difficult thing to explain to those that aren’t already onboard with it but doom metal possesses the timeless ability to impose a feeling of unity on the listener. It’s almost like we feel better about our own lives because we’re presented with solid evidence that others experience the same sort of dark feelings that we do on occasion & this can in turn lead to an uplifting feeling that can be quite addictive.

Each of the songs on “Soviet Invasion!” speeds up a little for short changeup sections that both draw the audience into live performances & also work to further enhance the heaviness of the slower material when it returns a short time later. The vocals of Zeeb Parkes are clean & quite serviceable without being particularly engaging while the bass lines generally double the guitars & add some nice little melodies here & there despite the fact that there's very little energy to them. They tend to lead the listener into a comfortable sway that has a somewhat psychedelic effect & that’s not uncommon for doom metal in general. Especially the more traditional 80’s style. The drumming is also fairly laid back here though which is not always the case with doom. I would definitely have preferred to hear the drummer really savaging his kit but he seems to be sitting back in his comfort zone here to an extent. Particularly on the live cut. It doesn’t contribute to a heavier sound which is a shame & I think this is the element that prevents me from really getting into this release as much as I feel I should. This is hardly a precision performance either with the three instrumentalists seeming to struggle to stay in time quite often.

Witchfinder General certainly hint at a sound that would appeal to me on a deeper level but overall this E.P. seems to sound a little bit casual to my ears & I think it’s the drumming that’s the major factor in that. Doom metal fans will want to hear this single at some point but I wouldn’t say that it’s particularly essential & younger doom metal fans might be best served by checking out Witchfinder General's debut full-length "Death Penalty" before deciding that the band are none of their business. "Soviet Invasion!" is more of a seminal release than it is a high quality one in my opinion.