Burned As Witches is the brainchild of Ash drummer Rick McMurray. The self-titled album was written by Rick at a time of loss and grieving for his long-term friend and manager of Ash, Steve Strange. The dark, heavy riffs, guitar solos, and sound of the album were inspired by Steve’s love of metal. If you are expecting pop-punk, think again. This debut album is heavy AF! Dark, grungy, meaty, and raw. Upon pressing play, my mouth is on the floor with the way the album opens up with ‘Scapegoats’. I think I may have found my new favourite band. It’s heavy and reminds me of bands like Royal Blood. I’m instantly hooked! The album opens up with ethereal reverb that gives me the sense of floating up into space. The guitar comes in dramatically with big arena rock power chords, before hitting those growling dark riffs. I’m listening through my headphones, getting the full impact of the sound, rocking out around my house. By the second song, lead single Hold Your Nerve, I’m fully dancing. If I were in the car, I would look like the famous scene from Wayne’s World. This album is strong!
The drum intro into the third song, ‘Pay The Ferry’, holds suspense for what is to come, a more melodic song. The guitar solos in this song remind me of 70s rock bands. Track four, ‘Truth Comes Crawling’, has a rock and roll start with the guitar and drums. This song is easy listening and would sit well on radio stations. I can see this song getting a lot of radio play, especially on stations like Radio X. The guitar solos again are reminiscent of the 70s and 80s. Track five is grungy and dark with those guitar solos creeping in the background. ‘It Comes Before The Fall’ is the most doom-sounding on the record, with its melodic rock sound throughout. Track six, ‘Right In Front Of You’, has my ears peaked with interest from the start. The way this song opens up is interesting and pleasing to the ears. Different from the others, the long guitar intro brings my attention to the vocals. The chorus is catchy with that gritty guitar riff we have heard throughout the album, but the hero in this song is the guitar solos! They hit hard and are monumental. I’m a sucker for a guitar solo, and this song gives. The solos in this song might be my favourite on the album. This song is a slow burner that kicks off towards the end with awesome guitar solos throughout. The drums and the guitar are the perfect way to end.
‘A Spartan Mass’ makes me want to cry with its beautiful acoustic guitar finger picking opening and emotional melody. It reminds me of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’. Ok, this song had me in tears by the time the vocals gently came in. I feel music deeply, and this song touched my soul. The song is eerie, sad, and poignant. ‘To the Sky’ opens up with vocals before the guitar comes in to give it grit and depth. This song gives me goosebumps. The guitar and vocals just work so well and leave just the right amount of space. A perfect ending to an incredible record. This album has been a journey; I literally feel like I’m ending up in space as the guitar and vocals take over at the end in an upward chorus. I felt like I was listening to my parents’ Zeppelin on vinyl with those heavy headphones, and like a child filled with imagination and emotion listening to the last two songs on this record. This album is the whole package! Heavy guitars that make you want to rock out and dance around the house, followed by vocals and acoustic guitars that make you daydream and get drawn into the emotions of the song. This album takes you on a journey, which I don’t feel you get from many albums these days.
I fell in love with music as a child listening to albums like Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’, Led Zeppelin’s ‘IV’, and The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’. This album, to me, can happily sit beside these great storytellers. I feel so honoured to have been one of the first to listen to this album. It’s an album which I believe will stand the test of time. I look forward to seeing ‘Burned As Witches’ live and I can see them headlining festivals and stadiums before too long! Their heavy growling guitars, catchy choruses, and guitar solos make this album stand out. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see ‘Burned As Witches’ supporting Muse on their next tour and playing Download Festival next summer.
Burned As Witches will be playing the following special pre-release dates this month at Sunderland’s Pop Records today (14th April), London’s Black Heart on the 15th April and Manchester’s Night & Day on the 15th April. You can purchase tickets and pre-order Burned As Witches debut album on vinyl ahead of it’s release on the 17th April here
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