Witchseeker. Southeast Asian heavy metal. Born in sin, leather pants, and cold gin in the city-state of Singapore in 2012, Witchseeker ply the high-intensity, truest-of-true waters between heavy metal, speed metal, and hard rock. The group’s debut, When the Clock Strikes (2017) caught the rapt attention of bangers into Cauldron, Enforcer, Pounder, and White Wizzard, and it’s been a steady rise to the top — of their white Reebok high tops — ever since. Well, the Lion City quartet are back! New album, Scene of the Wild, featuring Sheikh Spitfire (vocals), Brandon Speedranger (guitars), Aip Sinner (drums) and Nick Stormbringer (guitars), grits and slicks its way through the well-deflowered halls of heavy metal. But rather than hit the nail on the head like so many other, Witchseeker take their inspo to inspired levels, writing songs that are tighter than Tipper Gore’s teenage mini skirts.
Decibel and Germany-based indie Dying Victims Productions teamed up in an alley off Sunset Boulevard to plot Witchseeker’s NWOAHM attack. That’s right. Move over Action!, Tang Dynasty, and Saber Tiger. Witchseeker have arrived to build — straight from the Strait of Malacca — upon your legacy while also establishing Singapore with all its skyscrapers, banks, and quality of life as the next bastion of heavy fucking metal. Indeed, Witchseeker say: “We hail from Singapore, playing heavy metal as you know it, loud, timeless, and true. Scene of the Wild is a reflection of the lifestyle and debauchery of all the sinners living in a city of sin. We urge you to play it loud — keep it true!”
Raise a pint and sport an old-school Saxon shirt to Witchseeker’s Scene of the Wild! Time to turn Garden City into Riff City!
