Vicky
I might be subjective, but I love bands whose members are all women. This is why, when I first heard that the fierce ladies in Burning Witches have just released Inquisition, I really wanted to write about it. This Swiss/American/Dutch band plays Heavy and Power Metal and we have to give them credit. So far, they’ve done a fantastic job at it! But how about Inquisition? Let’s see!
We should start analyzing its new album now, shouldn’t we? To begin with, the album is definitely refreshing, given how much Doom and Gothic Metal I’ve listened to in the past month. The opening track, “Sanguini Hominum”, is not something you’d expect from a Heavy Metal band, but more like something you would definitely get from a Symphonic Metal one – a choir sings on a slow background, and a tenor performs solo at a certain point, as well. Overall, not the introduction I was expecting, I’m amazed! Thus, from the first song of the album, you discover a different side of the Witches from the usual harsh part they show us through their tracks.
I’ve noticed that Inquisition has times when it resembles the likes of Judas Priest or Accept. Here, and especially for that aspect, I must praise the front-witch, if you will, the very gifted Laura Guldemond, who can go from a clean, Lzzy Hale type of vocals, all the way to a Doro Pesch and a Rob Halford style and even to a Udo Dirkschneider sound. At times I would have to say that, honestly, Laura has a more intense and overall pleasant voice than your average Heavy/Power singer. Another one of Burning Witches’ great strengths is the guitar solos provided to us all by the talented Courtney Cox and Romana Kalkuhl. They help to shift between genres, making a smooth transition between Power Metal, old-school Heavy Metal, even Thrash Metal at times, and Hair Metal.
Probably the best song off Inquisition, “Release Me”, is a power ballad that dares to compete with some of the greatest ones in this style of music. We are talking here about iconic tracks like “Nothing Else Matters”, “A Tale That Wasn’t Right” (by Helloween), “My Sorrow” (by Saint Deamon), “Love’s Holding On” (by Axel Rudi Pell and Bonnie Tyler), and others. Lead vocalist Laura Guldemond even goes a little mezzosoprano at the end, so that’s good news to all you Symphonic Metalheads.
Let’s not forget that the album’s epilogue, much like the prologue, is orchestral; one can also notice a choir. My opinion? Listen to the album tracks in the way that the Witches intended you to, everything makes a lot more sense then, since the songs somehow tell a story that you understand only if you don’t go straight into the middle of the tale only then to read… I mean listen to the beginning.
Honestly, all this Inquisition makes me wonder what these genre-defying Burning Witches sound like live. I hope I get to find that out soon. When I do, I promise to let you all know through an article (not individually, since that might take me longer than expected). I was delightfully pleased by this album. To many more good ones, dear Witches!
Label: Napalm Records
Release date: August 22, 2025
Website: https://www.burningwitches.ch/
Country: Switzerland/USA/The Netherlands
Score: 4.4 / 5.0
Metal Eclipse Reviews 