(Credits: Far Out / Album Cover)
Witch Fever – ‘FEVEREATEN’
Themes surrounding ageing, mental health and complex relationships are given a lick of heavy metal paint on one of the most dynamic rock albums of 2025. Witch Fever are better than ever on their second record, pushing boundaries with every single note.
The Skinny: In October 2022, Witch Fever burst onto the scene with the debut record, Congregation. The album was a masterclass in how to present chaos within doom metal. The sound was constantly teetering on the edge of spinning out of control, riding that menacing wave where the best heavy music exists, and the four-piece proved themselves as real ones to watch. Now, with their second LP, FEVEREATEN, they’ve taken that sound and elevated it to a whole other level.
If you haven’t listened to the first album, you should, but what makes it great is the way the band are able to come together to deliver a sound which is filled to the brim with energy, but that they are still in total control of. Every single aspect of it, the riffs, the hard-hitting drums, the dynamic vocals, all of them combine and surmount to something wonderful. On FEVEREATEN we have more of that, but you can tell in the three years since their debut, the band have gotten better, become more connected and also branched out with their sound.
FEVEREATEN is still an offering in doom metal, but the way that it’s presented is more versatile. For instance, in one of the album’s leading singles, ‘The Garden’, we get an incredibly atmospheric and layered sound, akin to shoegaze, if a shoegaze band had been injected with a serum that made them all turn into goddamn metalheads.
The guitar is heavier, the sound is more complex, and lead singer Amy Walpole’s vocals have never been better. Her aggression is ever-present, but we also pick up sections of sweetness, of melancholy, and all things in between. Every single aspect of this record presents an elevated version of a band that many already loved, and it’s a joy to listen to.
The Verdict: If you like heavy rock music, listen to it. If you don’t, still listen to it. Witch Fever stay true to their sound on their second album, but with a more dynamic execution, one that clearly highlights their evolution as individuals and a band, while also making a genre that many consider inaccessible somewhat grounded.
Defining song: ‘The Garden’
Release date: October 31st, 2025 | Producer: Chris W Ryan | Label: Music For Nations / Sony
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