Sometimes you are the victim of your won success and you don't even know about it. Instead of sabotaging you in direct ways, the hype created by your previous excellence effects others, as it creates a distorted level of expectation in them without you knowing. This is almost certainly the case with me and King Witch, unless the band have read the many positive things I had to say about Body of Light (including, but not limited to, the fact that "Of Rock and Stone" is one of my favorite stoner metal tracks of all time). And so, when they released III, they probably didn't say to themselves "I hope Eden won't be disappointed by this". Nor should they have; I'm just one guy, after all. However, known or not, this is the kind of baggage I stepped in with when sitting down to originally listen to the album. And you know what? More or less, my expectations were met.
III is undoubtedly a King Witch album, which is to say that it is made up of some very fundamental and commonly accepted components performed to a very high level. Nothing King Witch does (or, indeed, has done on previous releases) is going to surprise you: this is stoner metal with a tinge of heavy metal played to a level of dedication that belies an incredible passion for the genre. The riffs are slow and chunky. The drums hit hard and hit often, punctuating every turn with robust kicks and echoing cymbals. The bass stays mostly close to these two instruments, serving as that rumbling underpin and source of momentum and groove. And, finally, gloriously, the vocals inject the formula with heart, power, and emotion. As on their previous releases, these vocals are truly what sets King Witch apart as vocalist Laura Donnelly wields her signature timbre with skill and strength.
All of this is good and well (seriously, I love this stuff) and is displayed once more on III. However. On Body of Light, there were some truly exceptional heights to this formula, ultra-efficient moments which squeezed every iota of power this formula provides to launch the tracks into the stratosphere. The aforementioned "Of Rock and Stone" is a great example of this, as is "The Call of the Hunter" which immediately follows it. On III, there are less moments like this. "Deal With the Devil", and its extended solos, is the closest the album comes to those peaks, although it gets so close as to be almost indistinguishable. That track, as the experts call it, fucking slaps. And yes, there are other great moments on the album, like "Swarming Flies"'s opening riff or the soaring vocal melodies of "Little Witch" which showcases Donnelly's incredible delivery. But, overall, III feels like a slightly paler version of Body of Light, not quite scaling the same summits at it did.
And you know what? That's fine. That's more than fine! That's very good! This album is very good. Not every album (and here I am going to invite potential strife, resist it) can be Relayer or Ride the Lightning or Brave New World (I got you there, didn't I). A band will have rising and sinking energy levels. The important thing is that they hold on to their quality, to what makes them special, to what originally drew their fans to them. On III, King Witch have done that easily - they have created another banging, raging, grooving stoner metal album that is a joy to listen to.
P.S. can we talk about how much that artwork fucking slaps? Good Lord!
III released today. Head on up to that Bandcamp link to grab it. Do it!