BEWITCHED – DIABOLICAL DEATH MASS

Released through Osmose Productions, the album feels frozen in time. Riffs slash forward with that same momentum that powered Diabolical Desecration and Pentagram Prayer in the late 90s, while production keeps things lean, and hostile enough to steer from collapsing into mud. There is no modern compression here, just instruments growling beneath chaos.

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Songs move fast, finishing right in the sweet spot to keep you wanting more. “Into the Fire” and “Crossing the Styx” hit with immediacy, driven frantically by riffs and choruses built for sweat soaked club floors. “Black Spells & Unclean Spirits” features some of the album’s sharpest guitar wizardry, while “Vicious and Wild” unleashes on a solo that sounds genuinely dangerous. “(Fear the) Revenge of the Ripper” directly reconnects with the band’s past, leaving any nostalgic feels at the doorstep.

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What brings Diabolical Death Mass together is the total lack of self consciousness. It seems Bewitched are playing music they’ve always believed in. Filthy speed metal drenched in satanic imagery, attitude, and first-wave black metal fire. The lyrics remain absurdly committed to every genre cliché imaginable, but that dedication all becomes part of its charm.

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After twenty years away from the studio, Bewitched are back. Not refined. Not evolved. Simply alive.

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SCORE 8/10

Words by LearnTwoExist 

In collaboration with Headbangers Australia

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