Released by: Bad Omen Records

Release Date: April 22nd, 2016

Genre: 70’s Hard Rock

Links: https://www.facebook.com/wytchhazel

Line Up:

Colin Hendra – Electric guitar and Vocals
Neil Corkery – Bass Guitar
Jack Spencer – Drums

Tacklist:

1.) Freedom Battle
2.) Fight
3.) Mighty King
4.) More than Conquerors
5.) Psalm
6.) Prelude
7.) He Shall Reign
8.) Dark Ages
9.) Wytch Hazel
10.) We Will Be Strong

My musical upbringing started in the 70’s with bands like The Alice Cooper Band, Black Sabbath, KISS, and The Beatles. As time progressed I started getting into all kinds of stuff, but some of my longest lasting favorites have been those brilliant bands of the 70’s I mentioned just now along with other greats like Thin Lizzy, Jethro Tull, Kansas, and countless others. Those bands truly knew the art of creating music that would last through the ages, and remain a consistent patchwork in the listening habits of generation after generation of music fans.

Attempting to carry on that tradition is the band Wytch Hazel, creating an album so deeply mired in that 70’s hard rock sound on their debut release Prelude, that it’s almost as if you have stumbled across a lost gem from those days. Two things grabbed me on the first listen: the brilliant duel guitar work that was so critical in forming that sound of old and the folk melodicism that this guitar playing weaved around. When you add the cascading voice of Colin Hendra the listener is instantly transported to a different time and age. On songs like “Mighty King,” “Freedom Battle,” and “He Shall Reign” each paint a unique story in my mind, something missing from much of the music of today, and something that has made those classic rock bands have such staying power.

Fans looking to beef up their collection of 70’s hard rock with something brand new, Wytch Hazel’s Prelude is one worth adding to that collection. Even though it will get pigeonholed as throwback and not ground breaking and entirely different, Prelude is a fine and powerful album holding true to those same values that held true back in the day: good songs are good songs no matter what shelf you try to put it on.

Written by: Chris Martin