Another day, another band from this year’s edition of Hell’s Heroes making their way through Chicago’s favorite metal haunt, Reggies. On this Wednesday evening, it’s a co-headline bill of a band I know very well (Bewitcher) and a band I’ve never listened to (Deathchant), and this coming from the guy who’s heard everything (sarcasm)! Regardless, the small but mighty crowd were filled with energy for tonight’s bill, which also included black n’ rollers Persekutor and local support from thrashers Force, both of whom I was unfortunately late for. So let’s dive on into the portion of the evening I WAS in attendance for, shall we?
Deathchant
Come to think of it, I think I have given Deathchant a cursory listen some years back. Yeah, I was trying to add them to the Metal Archives, only for them to be rejected for not being “metal enough”. Whatever. While these Californian heshers might not be “metal enough” for the oh so wise elders who control the hallowed halls of the Archives, they sure were metal enough for me! For one, they were loud. Like, excruciatingly loud. Loud to the point where my earplugs were of no help. Now usually, bands who play at such deafening volume are compensating for something, like a dude driving a monster truck. Not Deathchant! They make the most of every decibel to drive home their heavy rockin’ gospel, which lies somewhere at the crossroads of Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, and ’90s stoner rock.
Whether they were laying down painfully slow, doom-laden riffage, or punked up, high energy rockers on speed, Deathchant brought nothing but pure, eardrum-battering mayhem during the course of their co-headline set. Guitarists/vocalists T.J. Lemieux and Doug Stuckey traded licks and riffs like Lizzy’s own Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham, while bassist George Camacho thrashed, flailed, and walloped around the stage like a gakked out Geezer Butler at California Jam ’74. Put it all together and you had a strong start to what was bound to be a very heavy evening!
Bewitcher
When I received the press email regarding Bewitcher’s set at Reggies this evening, it was that this tour was not just in support of their latest offering, Spell Shock, but celebrating ten years of black magick metal. Wait, hold on. You mean to tell me Bewitcher has been bewitching for a decade now? Mind you, I’ve been listening to them, catching them live, and interviewing them for 8 of those 10 years, so at this point, it feels like we’ve been on this ride together…well, on my end at least. On Bewitcher’s end, I’m just one of the many faces along the way of their ongoing infernal voyage through the good ol’ US of A.
When we last saw Bewitcher, it was an all too brief early afternoon set as part of last year’s edition of Milwaukee Metal Fest. Coincidentally, said set just happened to coincide with the release date of “Starfire Maelstrom”, the debut single for their latest album, which was absent from the set that day, but opened up proceedings last night. From there, it was a mix of new bangers and blackened oldies, the latter sounding as explosive and chaotic live now as they did upon their release roughly a decade ago now. With four albums (and the occasional oddball single) to choose from, Bewitcher have more than enough material to craft a career-spanning setlist, and that they did.
For this here metallist who discovered them upon the release of their unforgettable 2016 debut (or rather a little after in 2017), it was the songs off that said masterpiece, “Sin Is in Her Blood”, “Speed ’til You Bleed”, “Bewitcher”, that resonated the strongest. Equally as strong was the cohesion between founding guitarist/vocalist Matteo Von Bewitcher and bassist/backing vocalist Andreas Magus with “newcomer” drummer Aris Wales. I use the word “newcomer” jokingly, as Wales has been holding down the beat since 2019, but I digress. Together, these three have a synchronicity that can’t be toyed with, leaving us all in a state of “Black Speed Delirium”, although that wasn’t played last night…perhaps next time? Knowing the speed these devils travel, it won’t be long before Chicago yet again feels the curse of the Bewitcher!
Setlist
- “Starfire Maelstrom”
- “Lavish Desecration”
- “Too Fast for the Flames”
- “Under the Witching Cross”
- “Speed ’til You Bleed”
- “Valley of the Ravens”
- “Out Against the Law”
- “Spell Shock”
- “Sin Is in Her Blood”
- “Satanic Magick Attack”
- “Bewitcher”
Leave a Reply