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Witchfinder General > Soviet Invasion! > Reviews
Witchfinder General - Soviet Invasion!

A time capsule - 77%

Wretchedspirit, November 21st, 2009

An acoustic guitar welcomes one to the beginning of “Soviet Invasion”, both to the album and to the song itself. Don’t be fooled though, as Witchfinder General is in no way a mellow band. In fact, it’s the last time you’ll hear such a soothing melody for the rest of their discography! Witchfinder General are doom; pure, uncomplicated and bloody raw. Traditional doom right down to its nucleus, with thick, simple riffs and despairing clean vocals. But this single offers more than just that, it offers something that one does not often see (or, at least, pick up) in certain genres of metal – it offers a message.

This message echoes the sentiment of the times in Great Britain (and, indeed, the rest of the Western world) during the ‘70s and early-‘80s. A sentiment of the deep-fear, felt by the West, of the Soviet Union and the dastardly deeds it committed behind the Iron Curtain. “Soviet Invasion” is a cry for peace throughout the world, and a cry for mercy for the people of the Warsaw Pact countries.

The drumming in this single is simple yet effective. It perfectly compliments the bass line, and makes itself particularly prevalent with a cowbell semi-intro on "R.I.P", which flows ever-so-smoothly into the main riff of the song. You aren't going to be dazzled by the drumwork on this album, it's really just a back-seater – though it’s still essential.

Some say that a good vocalist with a vast range is "make or break" for a doom band, and I would tend to agree. Witchfinder General do not disappoint in this field at all. Despite this being just a 13 minute release, the vocalist's full ability is utilised, with his clean voice and impressive ability to instil complete emotion into the already emotion-filled lyrics, he adds a whole level of genuineness to the band.

I only have one problem with this single, and that is the practically pseudo-live performance on R.I.P. (“live”), the crowd noises are merely generated (though the song itself is played live, with no retakes and such). This cheapens the effect of an otherwise great song. Despite that though; pick this single up, it is enjoyable, and is a perfect indication of what was to come from Witchfinder General. Not only that, but it is a relic of the Cold War in metal – something you are unlikely to find in very many other places elsewhere.

Obvious Black Sabbath fans - 72%

The_Boss, May 17th, 2008

Witchfinder General are a NWOBHM band from the late 70's that took on many influences from the forefathers of metal, Black Sabbath, adding in some doom influenced elements very similar to Sabbath's approach and continued to ride the wave of NWOBHM allowing themselves to get more and more popular as Sabbath did as well. They had the approach of pulverizing slow riffs that seemed to sludge along, a guitarist who solo'd similar to Iommi or Murray/Smith and had a vocalist who wailed over top with a nasal flare. Anyway this all combined to have a traditional doom metal feel helping to shape old school traditional doom metal with other bands like Saint Vitus.

Still, on this 3 song EP, it seemed like they didn't have much of an impact. If this was the only thing they had released I'd just dismiss them as a second tier doom metal band; the recorded songs here are not featured anywhere else but are still decent, nothing special but nothing terrible and still listenable. The title song starts thing off real well, having an acoustic intro that usually would set the mood up, but is just kinda boring, fortunately though it leads into a nice traditonal doom style riff, very Sabbath influenced of course, and leads into a nice traversing tale of slow pounding riffs and wailing, then it picks up into a nice, fast solo. I really enjoy the solo, it's definitely something Vol. 4-era Sabbath style and keeps you on your toes.

The other song is a little less captivating, continuing a slow pace of traditional doom, but lacks more of a motivation I presume, and doesn't capture my attention. The live song RIP, which would appear on Death Penalty (which is really the only thing you need by Witchfinder General) is a weak track. I wish they'd just created another awesome song like the title song Soviet Invasion. RIP is a decent song I won't lie, but all I can hear in this recording is the vocalist's nasally voice and his weak Ozzy impression. The bass is solid but doesn't show much effort, the guitar is even weaker and the drums are just there, not being mixed well.

So, the EP Soviet Invasion is a decent, nothing essential unless you're a die hard Witchfinder General fan in need to have every song they've recorded, in which case I'd suggest getting the title track because it kicks ass, while the other two are just barely passable. Witchfinder General are a great traditional doom metal band, but this there first EP isn't that much of something special. Obviously taking much from Sabbath's sound and incorporating some NWOBHM elements to create a fun sound but nothing special here.

Pretty damn good, although they would get better - 92%

Mungo, January 9th, 2007

This EP, while it doesn't reach the greatness of their future records, is an excellent and pretty damn heavy mix of NWOBHM and Doom Metal. Similarities to Black Sabbath abound, but it is not a problem as they incorporate their influences well without ripping them off.

There are only three songs on here, one being a live recording and the other two being studio recorded that wouldn't appear on any future Witchfinder General releases. One thing you must point out about Witchfinder General is that they were heavy as fuck, and this EP is no exception. Sludgy, crushing riffs with soaring, NWOBHM solos is what this release offers, even the short acoustic passages fit in well with the rest of the songs and don't disrupt the song or sound out of place. The best song on here would have to be the title track, with its acoustic beginnings out of which a monster of a riff emerges, that later speeds up into a brilliant solo, and finishes off with the sound of an explosion.

As previously mentioned, this EP isn't as good as their future records, the reason being that the riffs aren't as high quality and their songwriting isn't as impressive as it would become. Still, this complaint is only a slight one, and this remains a classic of the NWOBHM movement (hell, all of their releases are). A highly recommended and near essential piece of Heavy Metal.