Witchmaster/Voidhanger - Razing The Shrines Of Optimism

Like - I love black metal. I say that a lot, but I feel like people don't understand to what extent. It's what encourages me to spend a chunk of my life picking apart what might otherwise be an obscure release and trying to find meaning, as I am today with Razing The Shrines Of Optimism, a split between Witchmaster and Voidhanger, one that examines the darker sides of the genre and gets us delving deep into the fucked up worlds of what this music represents, even in the form it's sometimes forced to take in 2016.

Witchmaster kick off the split with music that sits just a tad above lo fi. The production is fairly stripped down and that bass drum sound is mediocre at best but that adds to the charm of the music. The sheer malice communicated in the vocals is strangely addictive and encourages us to keep diving into what the songs represent. Voidhanger have a slightly more 'tough guy' approach to the genre, a guttural cry defining the beginning of their side. They remind me at times of their black n roll peers in bands like Destroyer 666, or even the progenitors of the genre, the almighty Venom. While Witchmaster reflect the kvlt side of the genre, Voidhanger reflect its rock and roll magic.

So yes - black metal really is only the legitimate form of rock and roll left to us. These two bands are perfect representations of the music brought to us by a god who failed. Witchmaster and Voidhanger are two sides of the same coin, a reminder that black metal is vibrant and exiting and no one is going to stop us from playing it loud and proud. Razing The Shrines Of Optimism is exactly that, reminding us that no matter what we might think there is no end to the pain of this beautiful existence and that we can rise above.

Find them on Facebook!

Witchmaster: https://www.facebook.com/WitchmasterBand/?fref=ts

Voidhanger: https://www.facebook.com/voidhangerofficial/?fref=ts