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It is proud to present you an interview with American BEWITCHER, if you have not accidentally met their creation, you can take the poison this combo will broke your ligaments and beat teeth. They started in 2013 at Portland, Oregon, first they prepared "Satanic Panic" and "Wild Blasphemy" demos already in 2013, following by another "Midnight Hunters" demo from 2015 and it all resulted in "Bewitcher" debut last year. BEWITCHER music strictly adheres to all the rules of old Metal with all the essences, devil punching and wild brutality. Review of the debut has already been written, so now read words of Unholy Weaver of Shadows & Incantations (guit, vox, drum).



Hell-o, could you first introduce BEWITCHER band? Who is in the line-up and why you have actually formed BEWITCHER?
Bewitcher is a 3 piece heavy metal band from the United States. The members are (myself) Unholy Weaver of Shadows & Incantations on guitar and vox, Infernal Magus of Nocturnal Alchemy on bass and backing vox, and Diabolic Crusher of Hallowed Light on drums. We formed the band as a middle finger to modern music trends and in homage to the ancient metal gods of yore. We believe the spirit of true rock n roll is still alive and well and thriving in the underground and that is where it shall always reign triumphant.



I am always interested in how bands started listening to Heavy Metal. How it was in your case? When have you first sniff the toxic form of this genre and due to which bands you became orthodox metal head? Have you remained faithful to these bands till today?
Our early metal education is probably not that different from most people's. We were handed down a lot of it from older cousins and friends. Sabbath, Maiden, Priest, Metallica and Motorhead were all important bands early on. Later on it was Venom, Bathory, the NWOBHM and the first wave of Black Metal. Our drummer is more of an old school death metal dude and our bassist is a doom afficianado. Way too many bands to itemize, but you get the idea.

What was the original idea to form BEWITCHER? Was there any revolt against modern and trendy Metal, or you simply felt the need to get rid of anger out of yourself in the form of fast as hell Metal?
As I mentioned earlier, yeah, we aren't very fond of most metal from the last 20 years. There's been some decent stuff here and there, but our heart lies in the late '70's & early '80's stuff. Even as a kid in my first bands, this sound that Bewitcher is playing was always what I really wanted to do. Fast, raw, and fuckin evil!! The way heavy metal should be.

What does BEWITCHER mean to you? Is it just about band and fun, or you feel there even some more depth? Do you think Heavy Metal can be played also for fun only?
I think if you're not having fun, then you should probably look for something else to do. It's not like you can do this for the money. That being said, most people who listen to us probably don't think there is much depth to what we do. As time goes on they will realize their mistake.

Your first recording was a "Satanic Panic" demo from 2013 containing three songs that later appeared on the debut as well. How did it feel to hear first BEWITCHER from a recording? Was it exactly the message you wanted to achieve or it was even better?
We had no expectations going into the recording of the first demo. All we knew was we had some songs with great riffs and we just went for it. Hearing the first completed songs was a special moment, and at that point we knew something was happening.

From my perspective, you sound like a classic Metal band from 80s, of course a little more poisonous, but otherwise you have all the necessary attributes including a cool composition, own stylishness and necessary power of the tracks, crushing choruses and frenetic paces. How would you describe your music to some layman who does not listen to such music at all?
I think you said it all right there. I don't know if I would bother wasting time describing this band to someone who isn't at all familiar with this type of music.

This year you have finally released your "Bewitcher" debut LP album at Diabolic Might Records with the number of 500 pieces. How are you satisfied with the work of this label? Do you think 500 pieces is enough for Metal fanatics? Although the album came out still in August, do you already know some sales numbers?
DMR did a really great job in putting the package together and worked really hard in getting distribution. It's hard for such a new and small label to promote on a massive scale, so I think the run of 500 is appropriate for now. As far as I know, sales are solid. But Jochen, the label boss was clear that he didn't even care if it sold well, because he just wanted to release the album for love of the music. That meant a lot to us.

Could you describe your writing process? Do you have one composer or it is a matter of the whole band? Which your songs do you consider as your best so far and which one do you prefer to play live?
I write all the riffs, lyrics and arrangements, then our bassist and I will demo the songs with fake drums, then add the rest of the parts. Drummer gets the full song and adds his own stuff to it. Then we rehearse and let it evolve on it's own. I don't know what our best song is, I like 'em all. Currently my live favorite to play is 'Rome is on Fire', which will be on the next album.

Your music is dominated by negative and dark emotions which have always been part of the horrible old Metal. All these aspects are reflected in the final atmosphere of music creating a deep and interesting artistic concept. Do you perceive BEWITCHER as a band with deep artistic testimony of the dark arts? Do you think old devilish Metal must sound selflessly primitive and blunt, or these two levels can be combined together?
We've already demonstrated that they can be combined, but of course we weren't the first to do it. I think one can only explore occult territory through a deep connection with the primitive. I disagree that dark emotions are a negative thing, however. It's a necessary part of human completion, for without dark there is no light.

What reactions have you got to "Bewitcher" so far? How are you looking at critics in magazines, zines and webzines in general? Have you already met with some absurd claims regarding your music? What do they most criticize on your music, or vice
versa, what they most praise?
I couldn't care less what critics or media has to say about my band. I've read some reviews and most of these fucks don't even know what they're talking about. If they like us, that's fine I guess. But either way it's pretty meaningless to us.


Do you prefer more European Metal scene or your American one? Would you prove to compare these two scenes in terms of bands and fans? How are you are actually looking at the Metal scene of these days?
We haven't been to Europe yet, but I think we would get over pretty well there, from the things we've heard. The US scene is pretty strong right now, but the European bangers have a historical reputation for being extra maniacal.

Such a hypothetical question, would you like to play with BEWITCHER at a time when were created the most important Metal albums in history and experience it all for yourself, or is it better today, carrying message of the old masters?
Interesting question....I guess it would be pretty fuckin rad to share a stage with Metallica, Venom or Celtic Frost in their prime!

Ok, that would be all from me, thank you for the interesting interview and hope your music will be always so poisonous, insidious and addictive at the same time. If you would like to say something to your European fans, you have the space, thanx again!
Thanks for the thoughtful questions. Hail Europa, we will see you soon!!





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Unholy Weaver of Shadows & Incantations

                                                                   16.1.2017 Mortuary
 
Sin is in her blood
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