Band:	Hellwitch
Album:	Annihilational Intercention
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	June 2023

01. Sollipsistic Immortality
02. Delegated Disruption
03. Megalopalypytic Confine
04. Sorcerous Imminence
05. Hellwitch
06. Epochal Cessation
07. Anthropophagi
08. At Rest
09. Torture Chamber
10. Sweet home Alabama [Lynyrd Skynyrd cover] [vinyl bonus]

So, you fancy yourself a bit of death metal, do you? Well, what style suits you best? Traditional, technical, melodeath, progressive? How about a bit of thrash thrown in? Or, how about something completely different? Why not something with all of those elements thrown in together? Well, you're in luck; Annihilational Intercention gives you all of that, and then some.

It's hard to believe that the US death metal band Hellwitch have been around for almost four decades now since their establishment back in 1984, especially having only released two full-length albums (not counting their five demos and two EPs) prior to this latest output. Amazingly, it wasn't until 1990 that the band unleashed their first full-length debut Syzygial Miscreancy. Since then, listeners had to wait another nineteen years for their following release, 2009's Omnipotent Convocation. Well, guess what? After a staggering fourteen-year absence from the scene, Hellwitch have made another comeback, this time introducing us to their third full-length release to date, Annihilational Intercention.

Hellwitch has had regular changes in line-up since their formation, with the founding member Patrick Ranieri (vocalist/guitarist) the only member left from the original line-up. Now, the band returns once again with a new fresh line-up, featuring Brian Wilson (drummer) and Julian David Guillen (bass), as well as seasoned guitarist J.P. Brown joining forces. So, what does this newly established team of death metallers bring to the table; should we expect the band to take a new style and approach, or should we simply expect a reincarnation of the band's former true, Floridian brutal selves (except with new members)? How exactly does Annihilational Intercention live up to their previous efforts, I wonder?

Well, it's made clear just from the opening track "Salvo Of Solipsistic Immortality", that this album is going to be far from your typical standard death metal release. It's not like Hellwitch were firmly routed towards the traditional Floridian, old-school death metal approach previously; they've always had a tendency to venture into the realms of thrash, even adding some technicalities to their style, but this album takes that technicality to a whole new level. This album is clearly just as much about speed and aggression as it is heaviness and brutality, and just as much melody as there is complexity. I will even go as far to say, just as many elements of thrash than death metal, a prime example being "Torture Chamber", which has the tempo, ferocity, and riffing of a Teutonic thrash act. I would even say, at a push, there are elements of meloblack, which I find especially noticeable on "At Rest", where from the beginning of the track you're hit with blackened tremolo riffing, and even blackened shrieks in the vocal style.

It's clear to me, the intention for Annihilational Intercention is to create something original, a style in which Hellwitch can call their own. Hands down, the most striking element for me has to be Ranieri's vocal style, which varies from high-pitched thrash-like squeals, to death growls, and even blackened shrieks. His vocals throughout the album change at a mind-blowing rate, where at times you could even be mistaken for hearing multiple vocalists instead of one. "Megalopalypytic Confine" shows some of the band's most technically creative musicianship, with its highly complex rhythmic structures. The riffing is super melodic, but also played at an ultra-fast, technical rate that runs parallel with the mind-blowing, supercharged shredding leads, fast, complex drumming rhythms, and equally complex and creative bass lines.

However, the creativity and technicality doesn't stop there, as immediately after you're hit by the short midway instrumental, "Sorcerous Imminence", placed to slow the tempo and allow for a breather. However, this doesn't disrupt the flow at all, as it's for only less than a minute, and also acts as a short introduction for the eponymously named "Hellwitch", where the album goes back into aggressive hyperdrive mode. The main highlight for me is the track "Anthropophagi"; other than being the longest track featured on the album, at over seven minutes in length, this is also a track with a ridiculous amount of unpredictable tempo, and rhythmic pattern changes. It's got a complex structure, but one you don't have to be a super tech death nerd to follow and enjoy.

All in all, one can only admire Hellwitch's ambitious creative approach. This is a style that's resulted from all of Patrick Ranieri's past ideas and inspirations from over the past four decades, which have been crafted together on this album, and In doing so, allowing these fresh new faces to show what they're made of. Although I wouldn't consider Annihilational Intercention to be masterclass quality, this is a beginning, it's a style that works well for them, and I, for one, shall be looking forward to hearing what they do next.