Friday evening, right after work, what a better way to start your weekend with a long anticipated live show! It has been ages since I saw Witchcraft last time and I believe it was about time, after all these things happened in between, the records, the changes. I had so much anticipation and curiosity, it had hit the top!
(Text & Pictures)
Never been before at Mejeriet in Lund, at the south of Sweden, for a gig, and I must say that it’s a pretty good place for a rock show. Pardon, a local and band not far away from Lund (Malmö) opened up the night, and instantly gained the interest from the audience with their electrifying and captivating performance. A blend of post-punk, garage and dark atmospheric oriented sound, they played with high energy and dedication, and gave us a sweaty, fast paced – fast riffs and high energy rock n roll performance, having very good contact with the crowd and provided a really good warm up for almost 30 minutes. It is definitely a band I will keep on my radars and check their upcoming releases.
With a short intermission in between the 2 sets for the necessary changes in the scene, Witchcraft appeared and gave us a night to remember! Starting with “If Crimson was your color”, the power trio (Magnus Pelander on vocals and guitar, Ida Elin Tannerdal on bass and Johan “Jussi” Kalla on drums) kicked off in a fabulous way! This band may have been through various changes, challenges, obstacles, the years have long passed from the early 00s and their first release “No Angel or Demon”, but the real essence of what Witchcraft stands for was completely unfolded on the scene of Mejeriet. I mean, as the songs kept on being played (“Schyssta Lögner”, “No Angel or Demon”, “Wooden Cross”, etc.) I recalled the turning point of the band which was the signing to Rise Above Records. Lee Dorrian must have been very proud of this band and he must be given a lot of credits.
Anyway,
Back to the live gig, Magnus Pelander, the mastermind behind Witchcraft, really delivered an awesome performance from start to finish, and, even though, I must admit that, a second guitar maybe necessary, he played a fantastic show, with slow and heavy riffs, solos and everything. After all, he has always played great guitars. Vocal-wise, he handled so good the slow paced/doomy parts and the more folk based ones so gently and with an independent and fragile tone. “Queen of Bees”, a personal favorite track of mine was on the playlist and made me super happy when the doomy and slow riffs started, and that seemed to be a favorite for the crowd as well! I need to make as special mention to Ida Elin and Johan, who have joined Withcraft the latter years: both complement in the best way Magnus and form the ideal rhythmic foundation for the sound of the band. Both of them was a pleasure to watch, with their heavy, groovy and to-the-point performance. Big respect!
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“Her Sisters they were weak”. “Malstroem” (another personal favorite) and “Leva” guided us through the end, where Magnus had been captivating and with a vintage and nostalgic feeling all over the place, like a trip to the roots of his band, where songs were spanning from all different eras, representing this glorious past and with the eye towards the present and future where we can expect very nice things..
“Witchcraft” – Take One was the perfect closure of the night, a night where the band and Magnus himself re-introduced themselves to us, making a promise for new, great stuff, soon, but reminding us that we should never forget where they come from, what they have achieved and what they/he are/is capable of.
Det var grymt! Hoppas vi ses snart igen!
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