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Witchfinder General’s - Death Penalty is, to me, the perfect post-Sabbath Doom/NWOBHM/rock lp. I doubt it’s any great revelation to most of you to hear this album praised, but if it is, I suggest you check it out immediately. Every song is a lean and streamlined power hit. With detuned, massive riffs, a GREAT drum sound (especially for ‘82), awesome musicianship all around, and soulful clear vocals. Lyrics are basically about one of two things:

1. Sex, Drugs (& Beer), Rock N Roll
2. Hunting witches in Medieval times

The combination of the powerful riffs and the hooks from the sung vocals is matched by few in their time - Maiden, Diamond Head (early), Angel Witch - but WFG have a much more pronounced Ozzy-era Sabbath influence mixed in with the classic NWOBHM sound. After a brief acoustic intro on Invisible Hate, the album opens up with a riff steeped in Iommi and Page’s style, a perfect balance of simplicity and flashiness. It’s got a feel good peace and love message, and ends with some pro-Beer statements before leading into the speed rock of Free Country, which extols the virtues of pretty much every drug except heroin (which it advises you steer clear of). If parents were pissed by Sweet Leaf and Snow Blind, they must have been mortified by this album. Of course if your mom ever saw the cover to this, which has a possible witch (topless), being killed by a priest and Witch Finders, she’d probably flip out on you. I mean maybe your mom wouldn’t care, but if she didn’t you probably wouldn’t be listening to music designed to piss off parents anyway.

My favorite jam on this one though is without a doubt the song named after the band, Witchfinder General. The opening riff is so dominating you have no choice but to give your full attention, much like the personality of the character found within it. The clear and well sung vocals are almost a little off-putting if you’re a stranger to the band’s sound, but they gel well and anyone who doesn’t mind a little singing will enjoy them for sure. The song actually details the troubles between the populace of a town and the local witch finder, changing voices in different sections, which is kind of cool I guess. In the end the Witchfinder General wins. The song probably has some parallels with modern authority figures but I really doubt a band that sang the line “Mushroom tea, a toke of weed/Amphetamine is real good speed” really thought it through that much.

This comes on Black, Clear, Red, and Blue. I’m not sure how many of each were made but 500+ would be a safe bet. I’m showing the vinyl instead of the sleeve because it’s not really SFW.