The Hungarian Duo of Karola Gere (Keyboards, Vocals) and Roland Neubauer 9 Vocals, Guitars, Drum programming) are Witcher. Taking their name form the fictional novella, they traverse atmospheric black metal with a romanticism steeped in classical and fiction. Their follow up to 2022s lauded Lélekharang album is ‘’Boszorkányszimfóniák’’ a seven track EP that is a collection of the band’s interpretation of influential classical pieces.
Beginning with their trademark sumptuous, textured keyboards ‘’Hymn of the Cherubim – Op. 41, No. 6’’ (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky cover) is beautiful. It is transformed onto an elegant stripped-back piece of melancholic majesty. Witcher has an innate ear for the beautiful that when it is combined with their Black metal as on ‘’ Sarabande – Suite No. 4 in D Minor’’ (Georg Friedrich Händel cover) both styles of music are accentuated, the classical made more grandiose, dynamic more eminently listenable as an entity that breathes and moves throughout the music. ‘’Åses død (The Death of Ase) – Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46, No. 2’’. (Edvard Grieg cover) combines the guitar and keys to create a rhythmic interpretation of another challenging piece that exemplifies the heritage of music and its ability to transform into something unique and vibrant.
Their version of Carmina Burana: Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi is quite simply excellent. One of the most instantly recognizable pieces of classical music in metal is transformed into exactly that. A true combination of the two styles that builds into an excellent crescendo. ‘’ Three Shakespeare Songs: The Cloud-Capp’d Towers – No. 2 (Ralph Vaughan Williams cover)’’ is another that needs no introduction. The underlying riff is pure metal under the instantly recognizable refrain that becomes more extreme throughout the progression of the track.
Boszorkányszimfóniák is a passionate, pure and cinematic journey through sumptuous soundscapes that merge the timeless with the modern to create something that is new and powerful. It is a testament to their talent as composers and arrangers to reinterpret untouchable classics and make them sonic parts of their own diverse discography.
Witcher: Facebook
Release Year: 2024
Label: Filosofem Records
Category: EP
Country: Hungary
Reviewed by Sparky
