Rather than let it remain exclusive to a small run on the cassette tape format, Beach Impediment is proud to give the 2017 Demo by the Mid-Atlantic metalpunk power house WITCHTRIAL a proper go on vinyl. While the members of this band are known to many for creating a slew of well done hardcore punk outfits in recent years, their venture into this particular realm of the heavier and far more grisly has proven to be a worthy one as evidenced through these four tracks. Featuring a new mastering job by Will Killingsworth (the ferocity of which is truly magnified on a 45 RPM 12") along with striking cover art by Alex Heir and logo by Guilherme Bacellar. Limited to a one time pressing of 500 copies on black vinyl.

Our take: Demo-on-a-12” from this new all-star band out of DC featuring members of Warthog and Protester among many, many others. However, if you’re coming to Witchtrial looking for the raging hardcore of the aforementioned bands you are going to be disappointed as Witchtrial is pretty much 100% metal to my ears. Interestingly, though, I can’t really place the exact style, though that could just be because I don’t know metal nearly as well as I know hardcore. The cover of the record reminds me a little bit of Morbid Tales, though, and the music does too in some respects, particularly the non-intuitive changes in tempo (some of which, like Celtic Frost, are like the auditory equivalent of trudging through wet sand). There’s a lot of rock and roll in Witchtrial’s sound too… some of the riffs are very Motorhead-esque and the singer’s rock and roll drawl and Rob Halford-esque falsetto wails both invoke the more rocked-out end of metal. I do find myself wishing it were just a little more extreme, like I want the band to be faster, heavier, weirder, or just more over-the-top in some respect, but if you’re looking for metal that’s a little more measured and cerebral this might tickle your fancy.