WITCHER have proven themselves to be masters of a black metal, but with their latest release “Boszorkanyszimfoniak”, they have shown that they are highly skilled at cinematic recreations of monumental classical pieces. The album itself is has a dramatic undertone that could have accompanied the creation of Gothicism itself. Every minute of the album puts the listener into the final scene of the most heart wrenchingly violent film where the good guy does not always win. You will feel like you are there with them; feeling their pain as if it was yours when listening to “Sarabande” written by Georg Friedrich Handel. The added synths, the rhythm sections and guitar parts all work together to accomplish a build a whole new character for each of these tracks. It is hard to imagine just how gentle “A ses Dod” by Edvard Grieg is when the listener is confronted by the sheer power of the band’s cover of this track. The intricate beauty of the original remains, but the synths add such a strength to it that the listener forgets the melancholy and will be given such an emotional pain that they may fear they will never recover from it.

The feeling from the first of these tracks is that there is no ending in sight and no hope whatsoever for the listeners imaginative protagonist. However, we are given a “light at the end of the tunnel” moment when we hear the opening section of “Carmina Burana: Fortuna Imperetrix Mundi” by Carl Orff. Already monumental as an original, this cover brings out the most impactful moments with the use of distorted guitar and a rock drum kit. The way in which it is all blended into the mix really suits the song well and there is a gradual but well-built dynamic progression adding intensity and acting as a catastrophic ending to the journey of the listener. However, what would be a fantastic ending to a body of music, only acts as the penultimate scene of the story because what follows is “Summernight Melancholy”, a soothing track that offers a respite from the album and eases the listener out of heavy listening. Despite this, there is a bittersweet nature in this track creating a sense of loss after surviving a perilous journey. This beautiful piece of music has to be one of the best endings to an album there ever has been.