Description

A melodic black, thrash, and death metal band led by the mercurial vocalist Ipek, Wykked Wytch first started making waves shortly after the formation of the band in the mid-'90s in Philadelphia. Floridian death metal brutality with a female vocalist was fun back in the day when Crisis released their ‘Deathshead Extermination’, but what do Wykked Wytch have to offer in this day and age? Well, at least they do offer a different approach, which is nice: this is not an attempt to out-Crisis old Crisis records or become a clone of present day Crisis or Otep. Contrary to what I indicated early on in the review however, this isn't really death metal; the sound oscillates between various styles, with the vocalist going from death grunts to Dani Filth screams to various clean vocals in the space of a couple of minutes. Similarly, the instrumental side switches from death metal crunch to melodic blackened metal like they can't decide which one they like better. The result of this unusual concoction is as mixed as it probably seems — which causes the album to become somewhat forgettable as a whole. Overall, one is left with the impression that this could have been a lot better if Wykked Wytch hadn't tried to cover so much ground — and every time they try to sound like Cradle of Filth they seem to be wasting another opportunity to do something better. ‘Nefret’ is a decent effort with a number of good passages, but this being the band's third album, a more consistent result with more of an identity of its own was to be expected. Nefret is a arabic word that means ‘Hate’ Track listing: 1. Nefret 2. Fatal Intentions 3. Eternal Lies 4. Illfate 5. Seduced By Fear 6. Many Lives 7. Trauma 8. The Soul Awaits 9. Cursed Destinly