I have crossed paths only fleetingly with Witchsorrow over the years. A review of 2018’s Hexenhammer and a view of them at Hammerfest in Brum in 2019, the total I could find. My memories served me well, though, for their latest album slotted neatly into the Sabbath worship that I dimly recalled. And bloody great this latest album is if you enjoy occult-infused Doom.
Witchsorrow – The Devil And All His Works
Release Date: 3 July 2026
Words: Paul Hutchings
The mainstay of the band, Necroskull and Emily Witch, are now joined by a new drummer, Scott ‘Doom’ Taylor. He seems to have slotted in rather well, for his anchoring of sludgy, sprawling songs is totally on point.
Few bands can open with an 11+ minute song, but Witchsorrow have no qualms about doing just that. As the bell tolls over the organ that signals the eerie intro to Omnia Finiuntur, the vibes are more Cathedral than Sabbath, but regardless, it is a beguiling start that sprawls with just the right level of malevolent menace.
Whilst Witchsorrow wallow in the fuzzy low end, they can also level buildings with the intensity they conjure up. Bacchus is a slab crusher, a powerful combination of sludgy riffs and powerful impact, with Necroskull’s harrowing vocal delivery merely adding to the overall atmosphere. Sometimes, slow is just as good as fast, and this is a band intent of delivering a bruising combination.
When they get moving, as they do on Hades Chain, the infectious groove they generate demands your attention. It is impossible not to nod along to this one, such is the drive and feel. A standout track for me, it is a nasty, gritty, dirt under the nail’s kind of song. I dig it!!
Of similar style, In Triumph We Rot!! shows the band’s more up-tempo side, a chunky riff-heavy headbanger that gets the blood circulating.
The overall feel of the album has a creeping sense of uncertainty. There is a darkness that spreads across the room, a chill that appears despite the heat that was present when listening to it. The ominous bell that rings on In Triumph We Rot does resonate.
And then the finale, A Quintessence Of Dust. Over eight minutes long, it switches to the more Doom-laden approach that bubbles underneath the surface for much of the album.
Evil and sinister, it is a fine finish to an album that those of the Gothic Occult persuasion should be marking as one of the key albums of 2026.
Witchsorrow release The Devil And All His Works on 3 July 2026 via Church Road Records. For more details, visit bfan.link/the-devil-and-all-his-works.
Two weeks ago, Witchsorrow released Live At The Earth House, a full video live session recorded at Earth House. “It’s a rare thing to get to play somewhere like the Earth House,” the band said, “and really take time creating an atmosphere and being able to get in touch with parts of our music that sometimes don’t take centre-stage.
“It was slightly strange playing without an audience, but it meant that we were just playing purely for the three of us, and concentrating only on how we felt about the music and the surroundings.
“This was the first time we’d performed Bacchus, and it was wonderful to be able to do it in an environment like that.”
