The New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal (NWOTHM) has its newest star in Italy’s Witchunter. Since forming in 2007 in the Abruzzo region, Witchunter have parlayed the denim ‘n’ leather mantra across three full-lengths, with Metal Dream serving up the band’s latest. Now signed to Germany’s burgeoning indie Dying Victims Productions, the quintet–featuring Steve Di Leo (vocals), Federico “Ace” Iustini (lead guitars, vocals), Silvio “Chuck” Verdecchia (guitars, keyboards), Fabrizio “Thunder” Rosati (bass), and Luca “The Filter” Cetroni (drums)–are readying their world assault of twin guitars, galloping rhythms, and soaring vocals for the hungriest of masses.
Indeed, fans of NWOBHM legends Angel Witch, Jaguar, Tygers of Pan Tang, and Saxon will find solace Metal Dream‘s crossroads. But that’s not everything in Witchunter’s throwback playbook. They bring in Mercyful Fate and Black Sabbath, with a little Thin Lizzy to boot, as well. Featuring tracks like “Legion,” “Restless,” and the title track, Metal Dream posits the Italians at the top of the NWOTHM heap. Impassioned and skilled, this is the heavy metal we’ve all been waiting for.
Say Witchunter: “Metal Dream was born from our continuous desire to play together with the right anger, from our deep friendship and from the infinite passion we have towards heavy metal. We have always lived the band in a natural and spontaneous way; we play what we like most and we live metal as a continuous dream that helps us to exorcise problems and some of the boring aspects of life. This album represents who we are today. Although deeply linked with ’80s Metal, here we continued to try to express our personality with a sound and a personal approach, even if in a derivative context. Heavy Metal. Heavy Metal. Heavy Metal. We are metalheads who play for metalheads. The albums that accompany our everyday life, the underground scene… high volume, spikes, leather, blood and getting out of control is how we live music and how we want to continue living it. Until the end.”
A metal heart is hard to tear apart in Witchunter’s world. Stream Metal Dream in full now!
