__ __
_()__::_ _::_ ___:::___ ___:::____ _::_ _()_
||_> '|_> _ \ | | | | | | ||
|| |------ \ | | | | | | ||
== |> / | ____:____ | | | |> ==
|| | / |\ \ | | | | ||
|| / ------ \ | | ||
||\__ _____/| _ _______:_____/ \_____ _____// ___________||
`/ | _> | _> | > | _> | _> \'
|/ |/ |/ |/ |/
! ! ! ! !
Artist......: Wytch Hazel / Phantom Spell
Album.......: Ride on / Palantíri
Year........: 2024
Genre.......: Heavy Metal
Type........: Split EP
Label.......: Bad Omen Records
Language....: English
Source......: WEB/FLAC (24bit)
Quality.....: 1720kbps / 48 kHz / Stereo
Tracks......: 2 tracks
Playtime....: 00:08:15
Size........: 101.8 MiB
R.Date......: 2026-07-06
S.Date......: 2024-03-28
Url.........: https://open.qobuz.com/album/p4ajm7z1x9arc
01. Wytch Hazel - Ride on 4:04
02. Phantom Spell - Palantíri 4:12
On a holy roll after the success of their stunning 2023
LP IV: Sacrament, Lancastrian heavy metal apostles Wytch
Hazel here ally themselves with the underground pomp
wizardry of Phantom Spell for an addictively flippable
split seven-inch. From the diamond grooves and emotive
hooks to the antiquarian sleeve art, apparently
depicting a woodland encounter between Robin Hood and
Gandalf, this is an artefact dripping in the ethos and
atmosphere of long ago. This perfectly matched union of
talents take us from the pre-history of Middle-Earth,
via the sylvan mystique of the Dark Ages, to the magical
scene of the mid-late 1970s, when Judas Priest, Rainbow,
Magnum and Kansas were enjoying their first flush of
success, Tom Baker commanded the TARDIS, and all was
right with the world (apart from the power cuts, civil
unrest and disco, obviously).
With their open-hearted chivalric anthem Ride On, Wytch
Hazel effortlessly extend their yawning purple patch,
Colin Hendra's devout troubadours currently among the
hottest names in British heavy metal, even while rocking
white spandex and singing songs to the glory of God. As
with so many great Wytch Hazel tunes across four superb
albums since 2016, this almighty galloping earworm will
swiftly munch its way through the corpuscles in your
head, its gorgeous guitar solo slithering gracefully
along your cortex, warping time to convince you this has
surely been a family favourite drivetime rock classic
for decades.
On the flipside, Phantom Spell explore more cryptic
vistas with Palantíri, a song about Tolkien's crystal
balls, nailing the arcane, otherworldly vibe of those
early NWOBHM pioneers who used keyboards to project a
heightened level of mystical drama - cult raves like
Shiva, Limelight or Marquis De Sade - as well as
household names like Rush and Styx. Entirely the work of
Kyle McNeill, founding frontman of London-based trad
metal whizz-kids Seven Sisters, Phantom Spell's
beguiling debut LP Immortal's Requiem emerged in 2022,
but Palantíri is their strongest tune yet, building and
bursting with shimmery cascades of warm guitar
surrounding an imploringly epic chorus.
Colin and Kyle have been friends and fans of each
other's work since Wytch Hazel and Seven Sisters emerged
on the English metal circuit in the early-mid 2010s,
sharing bills and wavelengths, so this enchanting mutual
endeavour has been a long time coming. Between them,
Wytch Hazel and Phantom Spell shoot a beam of brilliant
light into our modern darkness, affording us a chance to
glimpse other times and other worlds. Seize it.