One of the least conventional NWOBHM groups to emerge from that
scene, in part because of the perception that they were a Satanic
band (the album of cover of Give 'Em Hell is quite obvious, but
actually very little else of the band has anything to do with
black metal).
Witchfynde's style is quite hard to pin down, as the songs range
from standard 70's hard rock to traditional NWOBHM to the downright
sinister (such as the awesome title track of Stagefright).
By the time of the third album, the band seemed a bit more
focused, but only slightly so -- inevitably, the lack of a real
direction led to their being relegated to cult status.
Personal opinion: Stagefright has the best songs,
Cloak And Dagger is the most consistent,
Give 'Em Hell the
quirkiest, and Lords Of Sin the most conventional.
The band reformed in 2000 with a new vocalist, and in late 2001
released The Witching Hour, featuring some older material
re-recorded as well as some new tunes.
A followup, Play It To Death, was in the works for several years
before being released in 2008.
Incidentally, the old vocalist (Luther Beltz), after some
disputes with the other members, decided to form his own band,
amusingly entitled
Wytchfynde.
