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BLACK MAGIC
Wizard’s Spell

High Roller (2014)
Rating: 6.5/10

This Norwegian band is the brainchild of duo Jon (guitar, bass, vocals) and the more atmospherically named Sadomancer (drums, vocals), and they’ve decided to trawl the blackest depths of the 80s in order to produce their own crusty slab of retro metal.

Traditional through and through, Wizard’s Spell is a nine-track platter which has taken its time to emerge. The band formed in 2006 and released a couple of demos, but seemed to have vanished in 2010. Now though, we have this 33-minute outing which combines solid, fiery and often cavernous mainstream metal with thrashier segments.

After a brief introduction the band pounces with ‘Rite Of The Wizard’, which features a basic yet catchy riff and stuffy solo which march together with stable drums in anticipation of the vocals. Sadly, upon first listen anyway, the vocals are a tad lame and just don’t have the meat to ride along the black waves of the percussion and rhythm guitar. There’s a hint of the gothic about the midnight yowls and yawns, but if you’d thrown this type of mournful wail back into the 1980s then you would no doubt have cast such a record aside.

Oddly, the five or so minute rumble of ‘Voodoo Curse’ is the track which really gets the album going. I say oddly because it’s an instrumental that – although a tad arduous – manages to conjure up a dark, ominous atmosphere as the drums gallop at a steady pace, giving the impression of a jam feel if anything. However, we’re soon back to the generic with ‘Thunder’, which reeks of old Iron Maiden with its simmering stance, but also isn’t afraid to touch upon the more extreme measures of metal as it nods to ancient Slayer too as it progresses. The problem here, however, is that the band seem to lack direction and maturity, and only exist by merely ripping off numerous greater bands.

‘Death Militia’ rattles by, but just doesn’t have the heart or the weight to cause any damage, and by the time ‘The Ritual’ has had its brief stint ‘Night Of Mayhem’ continues the metal revival trend. ‘Night Of Mayhem’ trundles along at a mediocre pace and tries so desperately to harbour a Venom-esque snort, but it just feels like a bad mimic that is confirmed with the dungeon brawl of ‘Possessed’ and closing tantrum of ‘Embrace By The Occult’, which attempt to lacquer the ears in soot but fail to stick because of their frail nature.

Although Wizard’s Spell isn’t a bad debut album, for all their stifled yelps and satanic conjuring, Black Magic just don’t have the power or know-how to survive in a world populated by so many bands who are on a similar trip.

Neil Arnold

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