WITCHWOOD is a 70's style Progressive Rock band from Italy.   They remind me of a non-metal version of BLACK SABBATH mixed with DEEP PURPLE and BLUE OYSTER CULT, which is good because this album does contain a cover of a BOC song, "Flaming Telepaths."  It is a pretty good cover; bassist Luca does a great job in carrying the song throughout, just like in the original.   It doesn't sound overly different from BOC's version although the riffs are much heavier this time around.  The important part is their lead guitarist Antonino straight up nails Buck's solo.

"Rainbow Demon," is another cover, this time from the band URIAH HEEP.  I have never heard the original so I cannot comment on how well they do the cover but the song is really good.  The moody intro really works with Riccardo's low, almost whispered voice here.  The song has a dark tone but it sounds somewhat playful in a fantastical type of way. The rest of the album is original music from the band, with the last track being a reworked version of a previous song "Handful of Stars".  I haven't heard the original so, again, I don't have any real basis of comparison here but the song is quite nice.  It starts as a slow build, somewhat dark and spacey with the ominous tones presented by Samuele's flute and Stefano's synths and hammond.

Around 2:50 mark, we get a nice thick hard rock riff; it sounds very similar to old school doom bands, so dark in nature is its tone.  The song has a somewhat jam band feel to it as the bulk of the song is every member of the band just rocking out.  The bass and flute are especially nice with the way they play off each other.  The lead guitar kicks in and we are treated to a really cool solo that keeps the bouncy feel of the other instruments but also sounds different enough to warrant it being there in the first place.  The song is over twelve minutes long but doesn't actually feel like it.  Through the minutes, it takes many different paths, and each instrument gets to shine, but it never really sounds like its too much or feel like your ears are overwhelmed.

'Like a Giant In A Cage,' is, to me, the best track on the album because it gives a great representation of the band's sound.  Fast, groovy bass, hard rock riffs, super focused drumming and great use of synths and flutes is what this song is all about, much like the band.  I think this band does a great job in bringing the cap between Prog rock and Hard Rock.  The songs feature a lot of musicians doing a lot of different things but it never becomes too spacey or out there.  This album is content in exploring the boundaries within Prog but never going over the lines and losing the edge they have.  I challenge any metalhead to listen to "A Grave Is A River," and not bang their head or think they might be listening to an unreleased SABBATH song.