Arkham Witch - Demo 2009

This is the first demo by Simon Strange of The Lamp of Thoth, from his solo band called Arkham Witch. In the first track he introduces 3 different members, one on drums, the oter on guitar and the last doing the vocals, but make no mistake, it's just a joke, they are all the same person. There are some things common with his current band but this is a much more Traditional Heavy Metal concept. There is still some Doom but this band is more along the lines of early 80's British Metal and 70's Hard rock all combined with a theme from Lovecraft stories.

Out of all the tracks on here, there is really only one that isn't as good as the others. "Hyades" that has a change in guitar sound that kind of sounds like something you would find at a toy shop. Its a plodding slow track which doesn't seem to serve any function apart from trying to sound heavy which its not for the most part. The rest of the demo though is brilliant, the opener gets the fun started with a tale based on "Dreams in the Witch House" story. "Let England Prevail" is up next and is a metal thumper, its a mid-paced classic sounding metal tune that has a infectious groove about it. Third Track is "Suicide 75" which has a similar sound to proto-metal bands of the mid 70's like Sir Lord Baltimore to name just one. Extremely catchy and while its the heaviest track on here, it is still the best to my ears. "Legions Of The Deep" is the other standout track here, this is a classic metal track in the vein of Priest, Maiden and Manilla Road. Every time you play this track you will hear a different old band in the sound. This is a great demo apart from the last song which is a misstep, it doesn't help when the song seems to go on forever but i am sure some people out there will love it. Yet, I feel this is better than anything Lamp Of Thoth has ever done.


Download.