WITCHFLOWER

These wicked minds released a great heavy rock album for their (almost) debut. It was called From The Purple Skies but it was totally Heep oriented. The result was an excellent album which I even rated with five stars (and you might know that I don't use this rating frequently - five % of my reviews actually).

On this one, they are more heading towards Purple. This is especially true during the wild opener Through My Life: this is an electrifying song which introduces you perfectly in their musical world: seventies vintage hard-rock. And, yes, I still like this.

There are also some rock ballads on Witchflower (this aspect was just ignored on their debut). Although it might be a good idea to do so, this band is more convincing while they just rock like hell. Both aspects are present during A Child & A Mirror which starts kicking at half time. But then, be prepared for an explosion for a minute or so. The delicate keyboard opening is fully Lord inspired (Jon, I mean).

Mighty Heep is not forgotten of course. The title track and especially Here Comes The King reminds us this great band. Super-fast beat (remember Easy Livin?), strong bass and wild sound overall. Fasten your seat belt!

The long Before The Morning Light is an average slower beat heavy song but thanks to a really emotional guitar solo (thanks Lucio Calegari) it is somewhat saved. Some sweeter moment during the acoustic and mellow Burning Tree will introduce you to some more Heep material (Shadows Train). Very heavy organ, powerful bass and eccentric drumming are the cocktail.

The jazzy Black Capricorn Fire almost starts as Lazy (another jazzy one) and offers some contrast with the other songs of this ultra long album (almost eighty minutes). Some fluting is available for a change, which provides some Tull feeling (this is welcome as well of course) but this song changes too many times from style and is not very cohesive as a whole. The mix between symphonic and heavy is not too bad though.

It is maybe a preview for their next album, who knows: Sad Woman has severe accents of Sabbath. I have to say that by this time, this album sounds a bit too much for me.

While I could be enthusiast over their previous recording, things are not quite as good here. The album is also much too long, which ends up with some dull feeling. Scorpio Odyssey is the longest track from Witchflower: it is a mix between Mark I (vocals), doom metal and fine fluting. Another formidable guitar break comes at the rescue as well. Very emotional again. The closing part is fully Van Der Graaf oriented (the sax is of course not alien to the feeling).

Their cover of Soldier Of Fortune is not bad, but frankly, this is not the most representative Purple song out there. I would have prefer to get Speed King for instance. It would have suited the style of Wicked Minds much better. But Lucio Calegari is again phenomenal during his solo. While the previous album was more keyboards oriented, this one opens the way for more guitar.

As you can see, the band tried to open their horizon to other giants of the seventies. It leads to some hectic moments and my overall feeling is a bit of a deception. This is a good derivative heavy album, while Purple. was a great one. Three stars.