Witchcraft |A Sinner's Child |Heavy Psych Sounds Records

Release Date March 13^th, 2026
Format: LP/CD/Digital
Genre Doom/Folk/Heavy Rock
Country Sweden

Witchcraft started in Örebro in 2000 when Magnus Pelander put the group together following the end of Norrsken. They dropped their self-titled debut in 2004 and immediately made massive waves in the underground doom scene. The band expanded their horizons with "Firewood" in 2005 and "The Alchemist" in 2007. Later, "Legend" arrived in 2012, abandoning strict vintage worship for a heavier modern rock approach. "Nucleus" brought massive doom tones in 2016, and "Black Metal" completely stripped things down to acoustic tracks in 2020. Last year, they dropped "Idag", bringing all those different eras together into one cohesive sound.

Now Witchcraft return with "A Sinner's Child", a five-track EP following up on that massive 2025 comeback. Magnus Pelander handles most of the heavy lifting here, stripping the music down to its absolute core. You get a mix of different vibes, blending heavy psych, melodic proto-doom, and somber acoustic folk. It is a very stripped-down approach. You can hear the raw emotion pouring out of the speakers, providing an intimate look into the songwriter's current state of mind.

The music swings from heavy, brooding doom excursions to luminous acoustic strumming. You get full band setups featuring thumping bass lines from Fredrik Landh and crashing cymbals by Micke Dahlén. Suddenly the music shifts into stripped-down, primitive rock driven entirely by distorted chords. The varied studio sessions span several years and multiple locations, resulting in a very organic rock jam. It is raw, unvarnished music played by people who bleed for the riff.

There is a ton of dirt under the fingernails of these tracks. The production varies wildly from song to song since they were tracked across different studios. You hear tape hiss, room noise, and amps buzzing in the background. Sometimes the shifts between the quiet acoustic moments and the loud, fuzzed-out doom riffs can be jarring. The EP functions more as a collection of stray ideas instead of a completely unified studio album.

For a diehard heavy rock fan, "A Sinner's Child" delivers the goods. Magnus Pelander sings with total passion, and the guitar tones are absolutely massive when the distortion kicks in. The five songs fly by quickly, leaving you wanting a full-length album instead of a short EP. It serves as a decent epilogue to "Idag" and keeps the Swedish doom fires burning. It is a worthy, completely unpretentious addition to the Witchcraft catalog.

Score: 7.0