With their pods bursting open unto slime-ridden pools amidst the sound of reeking afterbirth sloshing underfoot the brand new inferior legions of today saunter on aimlessly churning, squelching their symphony of mud into foam. Unfit for combat and capable of little more than prolific procreation they scrape away the environs by seeming nanorobotic extinction events, one excremental pile after another. Horizontally achieved prokaryotic conjugation only dements these slime soldiers’ sense of purpose, entrenched in limitless and imposing information they must process without proper left-hand flagellum to enact any such grand designs. Leave it to Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based technical death/thrash metal trio Hellwitch to finally return to the trenches amidst the muck and muddy flab of nowadays faux ‘old school’ death metal and present the real thing, a merit-based alternative with an enduring, uniquely thrashing mad personality still all their own. Their third full-length in thirty-nine years of existence ‘Annihilational Intercention‘ is not a passively farmed “comeback” but rather a vitally achieved continuation of their one-of-a-kind sound spawned from the very nascence of extreme metal. By pulling in a few decades old unrealized pieces and revivifying them next to brand new ideas the trio compound not only their historical relevance but enforce the timeless application of those standards as an undying art where 80’s death metal, death/thrash and technical thrash metal still present limitless mutant variation at an outrageous standard.

If you’ll recall Thrash ‘Til Death #38 where I’d covered the 1984-1994 history of this band, lead by founding guitarist/vocalist Pat Ranieri, through short reviews and some small summation of their impact Hellwitch are one of my all-time favorite bands and I set their debut record somewhere in between ‘Schizophrenia‘ and ‘Piece of Time‘ as vital parts of my death/thrash neural network. I believe most of what I’d previously written still holds up well enough that it can be treated as a general introduction to the most classic era of the band where death metal was invented, technical thrash metal was related, and death/thrash metal fandom best remembers and celebrates this choice standard for early United States death metal’s underdogs; The most important releases from the band’s past to consider here on this new album include the song “Torture Chamber” and its many versions starting with the pre-debut LP demo ‘Transgressive Sentience‘ (1986) alongside its update on the ‘Anthropophagi‘ (1994) promo tape which also included “Anthropophagi” and “At Rest” (which was also re-recorded for ‘At Rest‘ 7″ single back in 2017) all three of which appear here in their definition editions. We also get some pieces which date back to the most primitive beginnings of Ranieri‘s work with the original version of “Hellwitch” written back in 1985 but now finalized just for this album. I mention all of this because, well, I am a nerd for this level of provenance finally being made good upon and because Hellwitch haven’t had to distort the original versions of these songs to fit this album. It presents the reality that the artists work isn’t so much “dated” as it is singular dating back to the mid-80’s. Beyond that point, sure, even ‘Syzygial Miscreancy‘ (1990) featured early primitive extreme speed metal pieces next to technical death/thrash metal numbers as a point towards both the rapid evolution and unique intensity that translated through every iteration upon the entity.

Since I’ve never had a chance to talk about the 2005-2009 era of the band including their mLP (‘The Epitome of Disgrace‘, 2005) and the quite underrated ‘Omnipotent Convocation‘ (2009) I suppose the major distinction to make between the early material and the “revival” era is that those were more democratically written records during a period where Hellwitch seemed to be focusing on a functional unit, seeking (generally positive) compromises to avoid the usual “hired gun” comeback album flu that afflicts many classic groups. Naturally I love the over the top nature of the ’05 EP and the tempered, slightly more adventurous torrents of the band’s second LP, I would compare their upgrades as similar to how ‘Sacrefixion‘ came across when Insanity finally released it, a little bit more groovin’ but nothing is lost. At this point I’d say ‘Annihilational Intercention‘ has benefitted from letting Ranieri do his thing on the new pieces in terms of songcraft while also including demo/promo-only classics which were written (or, co-written) in the mid-90’s; If you’re not familiar with me I’ve long been a pusher for the ‘Terraasymmetry‘ mLP (a screen name I’ve used since 2003) and the ‘Anthropophagi‘ promo tape since I believe Hellwitch‘s potential energy had doubled at that point in history and it was never realized. If you’ve similar interest and ‘vested mindset focused on the significantly high standards of classic death/thrash metal, technical thrash metal, and 80’s death metal this album basically bakes-in the vital history of the band with decisive versions of previously archive-bound pieces and thankfully the old standards are still well above average here in 2023 as we approach brand new material.

At this point it makes sense to focus on what makes Hellwitch so unique beyond their earliest contributions to extreme thrash and Florida death metal before making any distinctions between what has always been and what is new. There are two fairly obviate standout traits which characterize Ranieri‘s work and the first centers around his vocals, a shrieking and growling style which might tangentially remind folks of Inquisitor (Netherlands) or late 80’s Macabre in terms of shrillness though he has variously tempered and unhinged this aspect for various recordings, this is probably where the 80’s writ songs stand out most as these tend to be the most over the top. Lyrically speaking the tongue-knotting maniac wordplay and use of mutant portmanteau for song titles and lyrics in Hellwitch remains one of my favorite aspects of the band, seemingly designed to match up with the unique style of complexly woven and blazing fast rhythm guitar work which otherwise defines the listening experience. Wherever the post-‘Hell Awaits‘ rise of extreme thrash meets the shredding runs of Possessed in a less playfully writ fashion, taking hard turns that should naturally appeal to fans of Atheist‘s earlier work as I feel all of these bands came from a similar standard of leading with a unique sound rather than blending in. Naturally this focus finds common comparison to Sadus‘ first album but in Hellwitch‘s case a precision pulverization, a blend of punctuative riffcraft and technical exaggerations, give a unique flair and wild pace to their work. Otherwise the key to upholding the brilliancy of the 1985-1994 era of the band comes with recognizing the drummers who’d been key part of this group’s signature early on and I think it is worth noting that drummer Brian Wilson (Midnight Spell) has stepped into those shoes beyond 2015 and made the space his own, it’ll be one of the first things you’ll notice about the first jab of three songs that hit as the ‘Annihilational Intercention‘ kicks off with the decidedly brutal “Solipsistic Immortality“, giving us all of the signature nodes of the group’s sound but now with a better sense of how their work resonates within a space.

It only becomes more clear that we are getting a singular vision of Hellwitch circa 2023 when we arrive upon the charged and busting-out “Delegated Disruption” with its central mechanistic groove and “Opiatic Luminance”-level trade off of vocal styles and rhythm runs, in this sense they’ve not reinvented or wholly recontextualized what the band do beyond providing some of the stronger, most balanced production values appropriate for this familiar approach. “Megalopalyptic Confine” seems to intentionally update the classic toggle-flipping intro to “Viral Exogence” as it starts though I would say it is the most circa ’92-’94 feeling piece among the new songs for its grooved-at refrains and the complex ride through its rhythms otherwise. As someone who is already beyond familiar with most of the demoed material the main thrill of getting a new record in this style comes with seeing the old standard upheld on new songs, that isn’t to say they’ve not updated the pieces from the ’94 promo but rather than a new piece like “Epochal Cessation” is and entirely new landscape to explore. The one song which I think they’ve updated with the most stunning level of insight is “Anthropophagi”, a piece which’d almost felt like it’d been inspired by melodic black/death metal harmonies when written now rethinks the spoken part beyond the intro and gives it a more outlandish, over the top feeling. Otherwise “Hellwitch” a piece pilfered and reimagined beyond an unreleased 1985 demo stands out here as if it were a viable B-side from ‘Syzygial Miscreancy‘ where some of those crossover-thrash level riff progressions and an ‘evil thrash metal’ level dark fantasy narrative were both freshest in mind.

As a longtime fan the appeal of ‘Annihilational Intercention‘ is twofold as Hellwitch make good on some choice relics from the very distant past while also showing they can be just as capable and inspired in embrace of new material. Beyond that I believe the points of authenticity they’ve applied to this work generally speak to a band who understand their legacy as both archivists and fans might, whereas many bands are dismal in response to being walked into a stylistic corner in this way Ranieri thrives in aiming for the ideal Hellwitch record because this is the sound and style that comes most naturally when chipping away until the exacting magickry of their gig feels consistent and respected. If you’d walked away from their last record circa 2009 feeling like it had all the right tics but none of the right twisted forms this long-awaited follow-up should sate the urge for the weirding thread forged in the classic era of the entity. A very high recommendation.

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