The past few weeks I have featured quite a few Latin American bands, a continent that has a metal scene that is a world in its own. Almost all bigger bands and musical movements have had their equivalents in South America and has contributed massively to the global development of Extreme Metal as well. But, regardless whether you are looking from the outside in, or the other way around, most bands from these countries have that recognizable spark of magical energy. No matter what specific genre, whether it is Thrash Metal, Black Metal or Death Metal, you can almost always tell that you’re dealing with a South American band – and not just because of that charming way of using the English language.
When we focus on the Thrash Metal regions of the Extreme Metal genre, there are a few bands that are usually cited as the main players on the continent. Colombia’s Witchtrap is an often overlooked band in that game. Yet, their charismatic blend of Thrash Metal with Black Metal aesthetics is definitely worth noticing. Although the band has been around since 1991, they started to really find their range some ten years later when Hells Headbangers started releasing their material during the mid-00’s. And, frankly, it is around those years that Witchtrap released their most appealing work.
Having said that, none of their later material would qualify as second-rate Black/Thrash Metal, yet most of what has been released over the last couple of years was just less able to strike the right chords. As with many bands that can more or less be placed in the same sort of musical territories, Witchtrap too drifted to a more sleazy sort of Heavy Metal sound. While I wouldn’t call them straight up musical blood brothers, over the past years we have seen the same happening with Desaster, Deströyer 666, Midnight and most recently Hellbutcher also showed a clear penchant for sleazy Heavy Metal. That doesn’t equal bad music, at all, but it does accumulate into a distinctly different musical product.
It is in this light that we should see and listen to ‘Hungry As The Beast’. While there are still some clearly early Black Metal licks to be found, the majority of the music is clearly more Heavy Metal-driven. Lots of catchy hooks and melodies, some nice and chugging riffs and the simple and recognizable choruses: it is all there. And, yes, it works. Judging from the last few albums, all through their long-term home of Hells Headbangers, it is clear that the days of rawer more Black Metal-tinged material is gone. But, if you have enjoyed that sharp Thrashing sound on Bewitched’s great 1997-released ‘Pentagram Prayer’-album, ‘Hungry As The Beast’ might be just what you are looking for. And, as the icing on the cake, fortunately Witchtrap never lost their South American spirit. That means we are treated on a dose of unadulterated almost youthful energy. Hellhammer might have struck their sound by playing a 45RPM Venom single on 33RPM, Witchtrap sounds like they have switched it up to 78RPM instead.
Witchtrap has in recent years become increasingly proficient at performing excellent metal that is easy to digest. The fact that the musicians have been around for some time and also know their classics is therefore quite audible throughout the album. The solid guitar work, the smooth tempo and the overall uncomplicated nature of the music make ‘Hungry As The Beast’ a more than worthy addition to many a “True Metal” collection, because remember: “If you’re a false, don’t entry!”.
Witchtrap
- Country: Colombia
- Style: Black Metal, Thrash Metal
- Links: Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp, Spotify, Youtube
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Hells Headbangers Records
- Country: USA
- Style: Black Metal, Death Metal, Thrash Metal, Other
- Links: Homepage, Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp, Youtube
