Finland doesn’t play around. Sure, Finnish Black Metal is usually furious with screeching vocals, and has that sound of wasps burrowing into your ears. But believe it or not, there’s Finnish Black Metal that sounds a little different than that, especially when there’s a little Death Metal thrown into the mix. WITCHES HOLLOW is a one-man band, which totally had me fooled, as it certainly sounds like a full band. I honestly had no idea. And three albums since 2019 isn’t a small feat for that. This isn’t some flat-sounding simpleness recorded in a bedroom. Hex-IO has perfected the full sound in what sounds like a real studio. ‘The Witch And The Devil Spoke’ starts a little downbeat with a nice scream until it erupts in a steady, more upbeat, more melodic rhythm. And what a good fucking beat. ‘The Witch And The Book’ is a more upbeat track which has a more common Black Metal sound that vibrates and shatters with its abrasiveness. ‘The Witch And The Apprentice’ (see a pattern here?) has a little bit of grim spoken word that bleeds into a staircase of riffs that sound like a discharge of monstrous proportions. The fourth track ‘The Witch And The Midnight’s Hour’ is a good, solid headbanging beat until ‘Intermezzo’, a brief rest before ‘The Witch And Death’ that morphs into a screeching wail and gyrating guitars. ‘The Witch And Deathgown’ slows it all down for a while before speeding up in an earsplitting, epic delivery. Lastly, ‘Night Eternal’ (What? No Witch in the title?) changes it all up to throw a curve ball that still manages to nestle itself in nicely with the rest of the album. The third full-length “Grimoire” is a fucking sublime detour from normal Finnish Metal, and takes us to roads somewhat familiar and strangely different, while maintaining a loud, energetic, fist-pumping rocker of an album. It’s time WITCHES HOLLOW creeps out from being overlooked and makes its appearance known in the Black Metal world. For more info, check out www.facebook.com/finnishwitchingmetal, www.facebook.com/ibdc666