Panzerchrist: All Witches Shall Burn (2024, Emanzipation Productions)

The Danish death metal band Panzerchrist led by the only founding member Panzergeneral (ex-Angel Accelerator Death, ex-Illdisposed) since its formation in 1993 presented in 2023 the new additions to the band after several changes throughout its career with the signing of drummer Danni Jelsgaard, guitarist Danny Bo Pedersen and vocalist Sonja Rosenlund Ahl, incorporating again guitarist Frederik O’Carroll who had already been part of the band between 2002 and 2006, with Panzergeneral himself in charge of bass since 2003.

Last year they already released their album Last Of A Kind via Emanzipation Productions with which they had already shown us what this new formation was capable of with eight new songs of great quality that, in general terms, presented one of the best albums that Panzerchrist has ever made. released to date. With a few months difference between the release of the aforementioned album and this EP titled All Witches Shall Burn, the quintet from Midtjylland surprises again with a collection of four songs that follow in the wake of their previous album while maintaining a very high level of quality in his compositions.

All Witches Shall Burn begins with the dark and fast song Sabbath Of The Rat, a brutal technical display by all its members in which vocalist Sonja Rosenlund Ahl stands out at all times. The musical part is characterized by its hard and harsh sound, with a forceful rhythm throughout the five minutes that make up this first song that contrasts perfectly with the second song of the EP, A Stone For The Graveless, whose atmosphere is much darker and more oppressive. In A Stone For The Graveless we come face to face with a much heavier and more agonizing sound, combining elements of doom and death metal with the house’s trademark.

The second part of the EP is composed of Satan Is Among Us and She’s A Witch. The first of these is an aggressive song in which they once again return to the forceful rhythms in which drummer Danni Jelsgaard can expand with all his might. The rhythm part by Panzergeneral and guitarists Danny Bo Pedersen and Frederik O’Carroll are truly wonderful. For the final part of the EP they have left the eclectic and instrumental She’s A Witch in which they combine dark and gloomy sounds with some synthesizers while introducing agonizing voices of pain and despair throughout the three minutes that end this very remarkable EP.

As a summary, without wanting to extend this criticism much further, I can affirm that this new Panzerchrist formation works at all levels. Although this EP is somewhat inferior to what the Danish quintet already showed us in their previous album, All Witches Shall Burn works wonderfully and keeps the band in search of new challenges for the promising future that they will surely continue to have ahead of them. Good job, guys.