{"id":35048,"date":"2013-11-28T08:52:06","date_gmt":"2013-11-28T13:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=35048"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:38:46","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:38:46","slug":"witch-cross-axe-to-grind-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/witch-cross-axe-to-grind-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Witch Cross Axe To Grind<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist\/News Editor —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"WitchIt\u2019s been nearly 30 years since the debut album from Danish cult heavy metal act Witch Cross was released, but the newly reformed band is finally back with a follow-up, titled Axe To Grind. Only bassist Jan Normark and guitarist Mike Kock remain from the Fit For Fight lineup, but the Witch Cross sound and spirit is still present and accounted for on Axe To Grind.<\/p>\n

Back in the 1980s, Witch Cross seemed like the Danish answer to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands, and three decades later they still compare \u2013 favorably at that \u2013 to those NWOBHM bands that are still alive and well. Axe To Grind is very much at home alongside recent offerings by Saxon, Tokyo Blade and to some degree Angel Witch.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not often that a band can resurface after so long and deliver an album that\u2019s true to their original sound but still resonates today, but Witch Cross definitely pulls it off here. Axe To Grind features plenty of heavy riffing and headbanging rhythms, but it\u2019s very melodic throughout. New vocalist Kevin Moore has a strong, forceful delivery that\u2019s somewhere between Saxon\u2019s Biff Byford and Angel Witch\u2019s Kevin Heybourne, and it matches perfectly with the razor sharp riffs here. Highlights of Axe To Grind include \u201cDemon in the Mirror,\u201d \u201cPart of the Machine\u201d and \u201cAwakening\/Pandora\u2019s Box,\u201d but it\u2019s the anthem \u201cMetal Nation (Raise Your Hands)\u201d that really gets the blood pumping.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re one of the initiated that knew of Witch Cross back in the day, or even if you\u2019ve only recently discovered them via the Fit For Fight reissue, Axe To Grind will not disappoint. It\u2019s also an album that should appeal to fans of the classic heavy metal sound, the NWOBHM, the New Wave of Traditional Metal and all points in between. Raise your hands, metal nation!<\/p>\n

Genre: Heavy Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nLars Bjornstad (d)
\nJan Normark (b)
\nKevin Moore (v)
\nMike Kock (g) (v)
\nPaul Martini (g)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\nMarch of the Vikings
\nDemon in the Mirror
\nRide With the Wind
\nMetal Nation
\nAwakening-Pandora\u2019s Box
\nAxe To Grind
\nBird of Prey
\nLost Without Warning
\nPart of the Machine
\nChelsea 100
\nBeyond the Veil<\/p>\n

Label: Hell\u2019s Headbangers<\/p>\n

Website: www.witchcross.dk<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – Senior Columnist\/News Editor — It\u2019s been nearly 30 years since the debut album from Danish cult heavy metal act Witch Cross was released, but the newly reformed band is finally back […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":35050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[2317,2491],"class_list":{"0":"post-35048","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-heavy-metal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}