 
Wykked Wytch are an extreme –by extreme
I really do mean bloody extreme – metal
band founded in Florida 15 years ago back in 1994;
lead vocalist Ipek Warnock has the sole original
member since she formed the band and has kept
the band going this long on her own with numerous
different line up changes. “The Ultimate
Deception” marks the 5th full length studio
release in the band’s back catalogue with
the one previous to this being self financed 4
years ago, with a drastic line up change leaving
Warnock debating whether to even release the album
or not under the Wykked Wytch name could spell
disaster, or it could be a glorious saving grace.
The first thing I’d like to point out is
that this band is predominantly labelled as a
black metal act, this particularly record though
even after a brief glance has more than that stirred
around in this mix; I’m hearing some death
metal elements, hardcore techniques coated with
some of that thick black metal style mashed together,
for the most part it genuinely does work fantastically
but at the same time it does feel like it becomes
a mesh of tones lumbering themselves from point
to point. The title track “The Ultimate
Deception” has so much potential as all
the right notes and techniques are there, they
just aren’t meshing together effectively
and maybe reorganisation of structure could have
sorted that out right there. “Serpents Among
Us” is actually really well written if you
really sit and admire it but still has some duff
sections in it as well which let the side down.
There’s a bit too much blasting me in face
in terms of drums, even on their Metallica cover
“Fade to Black” (Ignoring the poor
choice in song to cover based on the type of band
they are) wouldn’t need that kind of explosive
playing for the entirety to be honest, minimal
amounts would suffice. By the time “Abolish
The Weak” hits I’ve already had enough,
it’s just really confusing because everything
is there and there are definitely tracks that
have outstanding potential at times like “When
The Sleepers Rise” kicks off with a brilliant
riff but then it goes south again, “Despised
Existence” is all well until there’s
a transition from bouncy riff verses and heavy
breakdowns.
I will definitely have to go back and revisit
their past work and see if I can pull out somewhere
in time where everything went right for them,
if I was to take an educated guess after this
I’d say I wouldn’t find it as they’re
still on the way to the perfect structure. I have
complete faith that they can get there I think
all that’s needed is a bit more TLC when
it comes to writing and mixing, they’ll
get there.
3/5
Review by James Webb
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