Description
For many all-time-great rock bands in the ascendant, the fourth album is often the point where youthful years of febrile creativity and progressive momentum culminate in a masterwork for the ages, setting the seal on an early signature sound while opening it up to future possibilities. From enchanting 2016 debut Prelude, through 2018’s assured II: Sojourn, to 2020’s wizardly III: Pentecost, each Wytch Hazel album has embodied that old-fashioned notion of unstoppable progress, and the glittering treasure chest that is IV: Sacrament proves eminently worthy of rising to the toughest challenge. Not just the Lancashire quartet’s most classically beautiful production, but their strongest yet front-to-back collection of affecting hooks and ageless melodies.
Previous Press Quotes
“Quintessentially British-sounding proto-heavy metal, steeped in the mystical harmonies of Wishbone Ash, the heartfelt balladry of Thin Lizzy and the eccentric folk rock of Jethro Tull” – Metal Hammer
“Wytch Hazel may be a somewhat eccentric proposition (they perform in full ‘battle wear’, rope belts and all), but this is the sound of a deeply assured band, melodically astute, raw and idiosyncratic; hymns of vim propelled by duelling Thin Lizzy-esque licks and a musical aesthetic that reaches back not just decades but centuries”. The Quietus
“Retro heavy rockers Wytch Hazel have drawn quite a bit of attention these last few years with a consistent stream of excellent and always-improving albums—and for their unabashed love for their lord and saviour Jesus Christ…their third album III: Pentecost came out on Bad Omen Records to near-universal acclaim (aside from a bit of grumbling from metalheads who that are less interested in Christian lyrics). For the uninitiated, Wytch Hazel sound quite a bit like the glory days of early heavy metal just before Iron Maiden and Saxon took over the world; some good references are Ashbury, Wishbone Ash, and Pagan Altar, but Wytch Hazel’s sound is all their own” – Invisible Oranges
