It took me at least a decade or so to get into more extreme forms of metal-  I grew up loving Judas Priest, Dio, Black Sabbath, and Iron Maiden yet warmed slowly to the aggression and more hardcore vocal barks of Metallica and Slayer, but when the genre branched out even further into death\black metal I’d somewhat tuned out.  Don’t get me wrong; musically I couldn’t get enough of it but when the singer(?) opened his mouth I’d often cringe:  just what in the hell is that?  But as with thrash there was enough there to keep my attention for a return listen and after a while (years, actually) it hooked me.  I’m sure some of you may be saying…  yeah right!  What you got that’s gonna hook me?  Well, how about taking a listen to the blackened thrash of Sweden’s Witchery and the fantastically relentless “Oath Breaker”.

Hold on to your butts and buckle up because this is one helluva ride.  From the get go we’re treated to an endless barrage of pounding drums, ripping guitar work, and one hellacious, guttural croak that’ll scare the pants off the queasiest of punters out there.  But!  And this is one big but…  once that punch starts rattling the chains a little too vigorously the throttle is eased into one glorious, beautifully haunting drone of keyboards akin to the brightest of sunrises after the coldest and darkest of evenings; a moment so stark in a contrast that strikingly counterbalances the vociferous din that preceded it.  That is, until those darkest of clouds come rolling back in to warn the listener that they’re not quite out of the woods just yet and you’re yanked back into a rocket ride of ferocity.

Having been a fan of Witchery since their excellent debut, the band had released a handful of follow ups of varying degrees of quality.  Most were good if not excellent, but after the loss of original growler Toxine I was not quite as pleased with the followups.  Musically the tunes were excellently metallic but the vocals weren’t quite up to par.  But man, did that ever change with In His Infernal Majesty’s Service that featured new vocalist Angus Norder, who, based on his work on this disc and follow up I Am Legion, should be a household name in the frostiest of metal circles.  Norder’s evil, dark growls and venomous delivery are some of the best of the lot plus his thespian approach in the band’s videos stands tall amongst his peers.  On “Oath Breaker” he is downright spine chilling; more straight and direct with the growl during the verse and really laying the black heart on thick during the chorus section as he forewarns menacingly to “do what has to be done”.  Sleepless nights and scary dreams for sure…

While that vocal may be a shock to some, it’s that relentless battery of guitars and hammer of drums that serves as the core of the tune.  Drummer Christofer Barkensjo is beastly, sounding as if he’s grown up on a steady diet of Slayer’s Reign In Blood and a dusting of Anthrax’ Among The Living; guitarists Richard Corpse and Patrik Jensen are lethal with their riffery, sounding a mix of early Slayer and Judas Priest at their heaviest yet still layering in some warmer ryhthms to offset the crunch; and last but not least, deep in the mix is bassist Sharlee D’Angelo doing his best Steve Harris impersonation with a few melodic bass runs.  But man…  it’s still that light and shade that really gets me here; just an excellent dichotomy between the blackest of black and whitest of lights that interweave throughout, not leaning too far to one side to lose you altogether but walking that fine line between the two.  Just a thing of odd, unsettling beauty.

So go on, take that listen, and I promise you’ll be hooked.