Diabolical Desecration

"Play it loud and blow your fuckin' brains out" is printed on the cd and that's exactly what you should do with this horny old-school black-thrash album. The opener with the cool title "Hard as Steel (Hot as Hell)") starts with a catchy riff that runs through the whole song, the tempo reminds a bit of horse galloping. That makes you want to hear more of it. Also the other songs are in the old school style of the thrash/speed/black metal of the 80s and are convincing all along the line. Although the songs are a bit monotonous in parts, there are always cool riffs and breaks built in, so that you never get bored while listening. Although you've heard all of this somewhere before, the compositions seem to be quite independent and unique, and Bewitched cover almost everything from speed, thrash and black of the eighties.

Lyrically you don't take prisoners either, it's all about the horned man and his companions and servants as well as incantations to evoke him, as you can already see from the titles. The band photos and the cover, which probably shows the burning paradise over which the horned one ( or a mutated bat?) flies, are also fitting, which makes the band appear more in a black metal context, although I think that the music is also quite party compatible.

Especially remarkable tracks are "Hard as Steel (Hot as Hell)", the beginning alone is gripping, "Burnin'Paradise" with pretty cool riffs, "Triumph of Evil" with very catchy melodies and "Dressed in Blood", a song that increases in tempo, has a cool chorus and even (slightly crooked) clear vocals. There is a small deduction for the boring outro, which could have been shortened or left out completely. Four and a half minutes are much too long for that.

My conclusion about "Diabolical Desecration" is that you should definitely turn up the stereo while listening, as recommended by the band, open up a beer and then bawl along. It's a real pity that Bewitched didn't manage to keep their outputs at such a high level. But maybe there will be something new from them soon???

What happened to Bewitched? They released four great albums (and one stinker) and then they vanished into thin air, right? I am not willing to accept this status and I summon them to come back, because their last album "Spiritual Warfare" scored with many exciting pieces. But already their debut showed the potential of these filthy bastards. The almost logical consequence was that they got a deal with Osmose, the then most exciting label with bands such as Marduk, Immortal and Impaled Nazarene.

Bewitched's debut spreads the nasty charm of black thrash in a glorious manner. This is no humorous work, but the effective riffs and the smoothly flowing songs just make fun. Don't get me wrong. the fact that the songs boast with very well designed guitar lines does not mean that they are harmless or cute. Of course not. The mean vocals alone ensure the appropriate quantum of evilness. They seem to be done by angry dogs that have accidentally learned the English language and now they are condemned to sing for the rest of their pitiful lives, albeit they know just one single tone (if we neglect some very crude lines at the end of "Dressed in Blood" and a spoken part in "Blade of the Ripper".

But their rather monotonous barking does not have a negative effect on the songs. Especially the material of the first half is filled to the brim with strong riffs, swift sequences and a somehow natural malignancy. Real jewels show up, for example "Born of Flames" with its insidious backyard riffing or "Bloodthirst", an almost epic number with intensive verses. Both pieces have in common that their choruses do not lack a special form of catchiness, because they combine easily consumable lines with an unbridled greed for underground metal. Bewitched are definitely immune against lackluster fillers and so the album spreads wild vibrations. And please do not forget that we speak about a work of a Swedish band, released by a competent label. This means both musicianship and technical implementation do not suffer from flaws. "Diabolical Desecration" sounds exactly like a black thrash output should sound, even though it is rather transparent than slightly grimy.

Weaknesses are hard to find. Every now and then, a solo appears and some of them do not really add value to the songs. The guitar-free instrumental is rather superfluous and its atmosphere does not fully meet the mood of the remaining songs. The title track is only an overlong outro with some atmospheric gimmicks and martial drum rolls. Finally, some of the presented riffs are in very close proximity to each other. However, all these details do not kill the elemental power of an album whose songs come to the point directly. Bewitched know the value of straightforwardness and the dexterous execution of their musical ideas deserves respect. Their interpretation of black thrash is generic, just have a look at the song titles, but vigorous, infectious and hot-blooded at the same time. In my humble opinion, "Diabolical Desecration" lives up to its name and is still the best album of the Swedes. Too bad that the band preserves its comatose state since twelve years.

Bewitched put out a pretty good Black Thrash Metal album on this release. It has a nice Old Skool feel in certain parts but is heavier than many older bands. This group sounds their best when playing at a faster pace. At times when they slow down things just don't sound quite right on the songs. I like how the lyrics sheet has symbols so you know who is singing Vargher or Blackheim. The start of this CD sounds pretty good but the track drags on a bit too long. Also has an odd ending when you consider the title track is basically a fade out march with some sounds and instruments mixed in. Not sure I can think of many bands who have albums where title track is like that. There seems to be a ringing sound in the background of music that you can notice sometimes as well. Even though many of the lyrics are Satanic in nature I don't get an evil feeling from this album. If anything I feel Energized and like the words cuz they remind me of Venom(Cronos) and Classical bands like that. My favorite songs on the album would be Hellcult, Born of Flames, Holy Whore, Blade of The Ripper, and The Witches Plague.

Hard as Steel(Hot as Hell) is an all right song that has some pretty good moments in it. There a few spots that might sound a bit on choppy side though. All in all its a pretty decent song, that could of been a lot better. There are a few riffs in here that I really like and think are pretty catchy. I think what hurts the song is that it goes on a bit longer than it should. Some of the parts in it don't sound quite right with the rest of the song. Then a few of the slowed down sections also are a bit lacking at times from keeping with entire flow. If they stayed with the faster parts and other riffs this song would of been really good though. This basically is what Harder Than Ever wished it could have sounded like.

Hellcult seems to be one of the most pushed songs from this band. This is a pretty good song and seems to have better flow than Hard as Steel does. Probably one of the best songs on the album, with some great lyrics to say the least. I guess this is their version of Rip Ride or something like that.

Born of Flames has a cool sounding start to it with some nice riffs and beats that grab your attention. The vocals on this like the rest of the songs have a Black Metal feel to them. Yet there is a mixture of Bathory type sounding vocals mixed into it. I like this song its short and fast and all the vocals are done well by Vargher. A bit better song overall than Burnin' Paradise which he also sings all the lyrics on.

Deathspell is a bit slower paced to start and in general than the other songs. Still there are some pretty good heavy fast parts mixed into it rather well. This seems to be more Black Metal sounding than other tracks on the album. Mostly noticeable in the slower paced more mood setting sections.

Bloodthirst has like howling and noise things that start it off before the music comes into it. I really like how the guitar sounds on this song for the most part. When he says "As we Steal away your lives" there is a weird sounding part at end of that. This is a pretty good song but it goes on a bit too long in my view.

Burnin' Paradise is an all right song that has a nice Old Skool feel to it. There some guitar parts in this that I happen to like a fair amount. All vocals on this song and Born of Flames are credited to Vargher. This band seems to like to rhyme on many of their lyrics. Even if words don't look like they do, seems they sing them to.

Holy Whore is the only song on this CD where all vocals are credited to Blackheim. The words to this song really are worth reading. This is a pretty good song with some parts I really like that start after 2 minutes into it. The entire song cept for the way he sings a few parts I think sounds really good. The lyrics make me think a bit of a perverted version of Mercyful Fate's Nuns Have No Fun.

Triumph of Evil is another song that makes me think back to the 80's. "I raise my Sword to the sky.. Tonight, the virgin shall Die" pretty much sums up this song. Basically hard fast and with lyrics that make you think back to old Cronos Venom. The name of this reminds me of HellHammer Triumph of Death oddly enough.

Firehymn is the instrumental on the album to break up all the speed. Sounds like an old organ tuned in an eerie not quite right sort of way. The music played sounding like something from an old roughly produced horror movie.

Dressed In Blood returns us back to the heavier harder sound used to on the album. Has some bell sounds in this song that I hear as well. Not really one of my favorite songs on the CD, though its not horrible or anything really bad. Basically this song is about as good as the name for it is. There some funny sounding vocals in this song about 4 minutes into it. I think it might be Reaper doing it cuz he says come on Reaper before it starts. Also the booklet giving him credit for the last chorus of the song helps clinch that belief. What made them let him sing it is a bit beyond me but I guess they had a reason. End of this has bells that chime then fade out eventually.

Blade of The Ripper starts with what sounds like knives rubbing against each other. The music comes in with nice sounding guitar and fitting vocals. This song seems to have more stops in it and other breaks mixed with the singing. There is some singing that chimes in around 1:25 into the song that makes me think of Ophthalamia type only a bit clearer. The lyrics in that section are not printed in the booklet, I guess its their ode to Helloween's Keeper of the Seven Keys song. To me this song really has an Old Skool feel and probably one of my favorites on the album. Granted some of the words might not be the best, yet they seem to make the song work fine despite that.

The Witches Plague is a pretty good song with some nice riffs mixed in. About 50 seconds into the song there are some parts I know I heard somewhere before. Granted it sounds a bit different on this album and pretty good in its own right. They also have some nice guitar on this song for those who like that over Bass sounds.

Diabolical Desecration starts off with what sound like marching drums with sounds mixed in. Basically setting a mood like ready to march into some sorta battle. Screams and other explosion type noises among other things come after the drumming. Really different sounding start than any of the other songs on this CD to say very least. They seem to build the mood they are aiming for rather well, unlike many bands who try stuff like this. Also as the last track on the album the slower pace seems to work fine to wind a person down. The lyric sheet describes it as The March, The Battle, and the Victory. They have words listed that perhaps don't play on my CD player "You say you've seen god's light. That you've got christ's salvation. We'll crush you with Satan's might. Diabolical Desecration". Basically this lasts about 4 minutes, until finally fading to an end.

This is a pretty good album to get if you like Black Metal, Thrash and 80's bands basically. There are song titles, lyrics, and even musical parts that remind me of many bands. From classics like Venom, Slayer, Kreator, Celtic Frost, HellHammer, Judas Priest, Mercyful Fate, and Bathory, to even lesser known bands. Bewitched is nice to toss on every so often when you wanna hear something a tad more upbeat. Least without resorting to something like Helloween or The Monkees. I have to give this album at least a 92, might of been higher cept for a few flaws. Several songs are a bit too long or don't sound quite right in a few parts. As an entire album there are a few bumps in the road of flow as well. Still as for Thrash goes its better than lots of albums in many aspects. There are a few songs on here that stand out from the rest by a rather good margin. I am not saying this band is totally original and you wont hear some things you heard before. I graded this for what it is though a Black Metal Thrash album with Old Skool roots and feel. If you don't like that sort of music this isn't an album you are likely to enjoy. I liked some stuff Blackheim(Diabolical Masquerade) and Vargher(Throne of Ahaz) did besides this band before getting it. So those were contributing factors to why I bought this release when it came out. If you like this album you might wanna check out their other projects. Both singers sound almost the same cept for a few noticeable differences, so their alternating vocals are not really distracting. This CD has "Play it Loud and Blow your Fuckin' Brains out!" written on it. So take their advice and have fun listening to this Black Thrash Blasphemy.