Attic - Return of the Witchfinder (2024)

★★★★

Oh boy, was I excited for this one! In the frenzy of anticipated releases, I noticed Attic would be unleashing their third album, and to no one’s surprise, it’s a ripper. Taking their heavily King Diamond/Mercyful Fate-influenced style of songwriting from the past two records and pairing it with even more riffs and melody, Attic’s come back to give us a double serving of evil themes and crazed falsettos. The album opens with a short but haunting instrumental track, then immediately launches into the stratosphere with riffs galore and pummeling rhythms. Even incorporating a blast beat here and there, Attic have stepped beyond just mirroring their KD/MF influences, but also including some hints of first wave black metal – something we haven’t seen explored much by the group on prior albums. But enough about the instruments… how are the vocals? Well, for me, the only gripe I have with vocalist Meister Cagliostro is his lower range. His high range? Perfect. The grit on the low end, however, could be improved. But even then, that’s me just nitpicking – it’s an all-around fantastic record. If you love King Diamond or any of the Mercyful Fate stuff, be sure to give this one a listen!

FAVORITE TRACKS: "Return of the Witchfinder," "Offerings to Baalberith," "The Baleful Baron"

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Originally published in March '24 (Issue No. 2)