Reviews: Pythia, Insult, Toranaga UK, Witchrot (Matt Bladen, Simon Black, Mark Young & Joe Guatieri)

Pythia – V PT: Hallowed (Golden Axe) [Matt Bladen]

British symphonic metal band Pythia have long languished in the past, invoking the glorious beginnings of the symphonic metal scene where Within Temptation, Epica and of course Nightwish ruled over it with soprano vocals, swathes of synths and Euro metal riffs. In the six years since their last album, Pythia haven’t deserted their key influences for this new EP. The title gives away that this is the first part of what will be their fifth album overall and its 24 minutes of what you would come to expect from the band. 

Unlike a lot of symphonic bands Pythia have much more in the way of guitars, they aren’t just there to ‘metalize’ the bits that aren’t done by keyboards, both Jamie Hunt and Ross White have experience in death/thrash/groove bands, where things are fast, loud and technical and this technicality makes its way into Pythia as numerous lead guitar duels and exhilarating solos alongside rapid power metal flurries, check out Path Of Decay for all of the above. 

In the engine room drummer Marc Dyos and bassist Ash Porter, set a measured pace on the gothic A Curse In The Blood as they bring Celtic flourishes on Bright Flame. Sophie Dorman's classical vocals are broad with a wide range delivered throughout the EP as all those symphonic moments are created by keyboardist Marcus Matusiak. Faster and thrashier than your average symphonic metal band, Pythia stage a strong return after six years. 8/10

Insult - Reside Infernus (Self Released) [Simon Black]

I’ve been hearing good things about Bristol-based Insult for a while now, based on the overlap between them and the legendary Thrashers Onslaught. With three out of the five members being related to that prodigious band (two ex-members and a roadie!), it’s inevitable that I would find myself looking for similarities between the two, but despite sharing former members, genre in places and hometown they are very different beasts indeed. It’s definitely old school Thrash Metal in part, evokes the rough and raw production values of the past but feels equally at home in the Hard Rock and more traditional Metal sound of days gone by, which is no bad thing, because it stops the record from getting repetitive.

What it does well throughout, regardless of stylistic direction, is deliver energy by the bucket load wrapped around eight well-crafted tracks that illustrate what happens when five lads who know what they like and know what they are doing get into a room together. Despite the Thrash label and wraparound tracks, it’s the pure Motörhead feel of tracks like 0-60 Death Or Glory that you know is going to please the local biker chapter (The Sons Of Arthritis) where that rough and ready sound that works just as well with old-school Thrash as it does with more pure play Rock ‘n’ Roll.

What I think lets it down are the production values. I don’t get on with the attitude bands made up of younger folk not around in the 80’s of trying to emulate old recording sounds, and these boys are clearly of my generation, so I wonder whether it was a deliberate decision to adopt an old school sound to the recording. I’m hoping it’s about budget and lack of experience rather than choice, so will give it the benefit of the doubt on the grounds that the press release doesn’t credit a producer and mess with my sacred equaliser settings to fatten the sound, because the songs themselves indicate a hugely promising act who meld the old and the new in a thoroughly enjoyable way. A bit more polish next time maybe, but a damned fine start. 7/10

Toranaga UK - A New Order (Self Release) [Mark Young]

So, this is a release that has been a long time coming. Bradford’s Toranaga UK return with a new EP that follows on from their last full-length release of Righteous Retribution back in 2013 (and yes, I’m leaning heavily with online resources here). Since forming in 1982 it has been a case of both activity and inactivity, with 3 albums released in that period up until now. A New Order represents an attempt at breathing life into proceedings and going with an EP is a positive step, providing a sharp introduction to what they are all about. 

Thrash, that is what they are all about.

We know that British thrash has not always been favourably compared to our American counterparts, but the recent resurgence in it has shown that the UK does have the bands to take what is effectively a tired genre and give it the necessary kick in order to get it up and about once more. With this in mind, what about the songs here? Well, to be honest they are perfectly fine. I appreciate that it could sound like it’s a bit of flat review but bear me. Each of them provides a particular facet of the band, from Desecration kicking things off at high speed, this is authentic, old school thrash complete with what I describe as classic time and position changes this has to be their opener of choice live, it has that feel to, one where is it almost impossible not to nod your head. 

Throw in a lead break replete with ‘those’ moments in it and its an incredibly strong start and for me I wanted that vibe to continue so obviously they go the opposite way with A New Order, slowing down whilst still bringing the riffs. Now this is one of the reasons why I could never get on with British Thrash back in the day, we seem to struggle with mid-paced songs and I think its to do with how our vocals sound. When its fast, the singing style doesn’t really register (at least with me) so when it does slow down, they are more exposed and then takes me out of it. 

That is not to say that guitars on this are poor. They are not, it’s a well-built song but I can’t get over the singing style. Its not quite heavy enough for me. The same can be said for The Shrine, except that it has that thrash bop to it, just listen from 1 minute 10 onwards as its changes gear then by 1 minute 33 it is in that classic thrash stomp and I don’t think I’ve smiled at a song in ages. It pulls in a touch of NWOBHM just for fun and you get a cracker of a song. What should be recognised is how good it sounds; everything is clear so when they do change through the gears you can hear it.

Sword Of Damocles is their closing comment and looks to act as their ‘jumping on’ song such is its arrangement in that it has a little bit taken from the preceding three tracks in its core. Whilst I would have preferred to have had something akin to Desecration, something that would come in and crush it is still a good song to close out with.

As a collection of songs, I think you can say that the EP has done its job in getting

them going again and I standby my initial comment that these songs are perfectly fine in how they portray the band as to what they are. Each is well built, with riffs in the right place and solo’s that are just on the right side of mental. Your enjoyment will depend largely on how you like your metal, if it’s that downturned, shouty/singer/shouty stuff then I would look elsewhere. For everyone else, especially those who dig NWOBH/ UK thrash then this is right up your street. 7/10

Witchrot - Soul Cellar (Fuzzed And Buzzed Records/Majestic Mountain Records) [Joe Guatieri]

Witchrot are a genre-hopping Doom Metal band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada that have been consistently putting out releases since 2018. 2025 sees the band coming back again with their second full-length album Soul Cellar alongside a new bass player in Jon Ferraria.

The record opens with Possession Deepens which caught my ear with a smooth pondering bass line, as keyboards dance in the background making for a very lounge-esque feel. As we continue to slowly drift our way through, the bass that gives you a wink and a nudge that bigger things may come makes good on its promise as all hell breaks loose by 2:12. Peter Turik’s guitars storm in with power and and swagger in it’s curvature, backed by an unrelenting low end as Lea Reto’s vocals croon over the top of everything. This is a great way to start the album, making for my favourite song on Soul Cellar already but is it all too little too late?

Onto track two, Tombstone we are presented with a galloping guitar riff which repeats throughout the song, this is then immediately followed by these striking chords which make for arrows to the heart. As Tombstone plays out, I really enjoy what Witchrot does with the verses here as the cinematic keyboards, which are played by Patrick Sherrard, really add to the build up. They envelope each note in a blanket of chorus effects and add so much more oomph. Towards the back end of this piece, the pace quickens and unfortunately, here lies the first forms of shakiness as the fuzz dampens the guitar solo, really kicking it out of the room. However the vocal performance really saves this song as they are belted out with such an intensity, the singer's lungs might as well fly out if her throat.

We go into track three with Throat Cutter, the bass again makes its presence known with the intentions of a spider as it crawls throughout but it is washed away by guitars that sound far too spikey for their own good, it’s lack and body and grit make it sound lopsided, it just doesn’t sound right. We hear dying breaths of interest by 3:30 as the guitar finds a way to settle in with the bass, sounding very bluesy but it’s not enough as annoyance rings again by 4:57 as these misdirected flourishes make an ugly return.

We drunkenly stumble into Die Alone and we go from wallowing around in a graveyard to a fucking Ford advert as for some ungodly reason we go into Hard Rock and everyone puts their headbands on! It’s such an abrupt change from the last track and departure from what we've previously heard, it prioritises flashiness over scene setting and it makes me want to not only take a bath but also peek my skin off.

Going back to the beginning with Possession Deepens, the lyrics state “Into the depths of hell” which is what I hinted at early on in this review, ironically going forward it summed up the album for me. At its best, there are great inventive bass lines and consistent on-point vocals and at its worst the drums are lacklustre, alongside head-scratching guitar phrases and a strange shift in mood. 

Overall, unfortunately Soul Cellar suffers as it progresses through its track listing, feeling underwhelming and doing too much too quickly. It chucks too many ideas at the board leading to seeing some fail to stick. After four years since their last studio album came out, Witchrot had time but lacked patience. 4/10