It’s most of the time that I find myself listening to the extreme ends of speed when it comes to metal I enjoy the most whether it be something blisteringly fast or amazingly slow, and it’s not often whatsoever that I find myself listening to something much more mid-paced. Why that’s the case I’m not quite sure as there has always been loads of excellence with such speed, and it’s with their latest work that Murder Castle provides a fine example of just that.

While this album is far from anything that I’d skip or something that I’d even recommend someone not to even mess with, the whole of “The Black Widow” feels a lot like many other groove metal works: in the right place but just missing the mark. But that doesn’t mean what Murder Castle has created here is anything to be scoffed at or spat on because they’ve created an incredibly accessible listen that takes virtually nothing to get into as it’s with their catchy riffs, terrific energy and constant flow that helps make “The Black Widow” a piece that comes together seamlessly quite quickly. All of its tracks are quite varied and, even though they never really come together for what I’d call a cohesive listen, the whole of the work has plenty of interesting bits throughout its runtime that keep the listener engaged most of the time. As the vocals keep everything moving forward, the instruments do a great job at bringing forth a solid amount of power backed by undeniable energy. It’s such that by the end of “The Black Widow”, we can definitely tell that Murder Castle has plenty of capability to bring to life the exact sound they want, but it’s just out of their reach whether it be because they just haven’t figured out how to tap into it as well yet or they need more experience which shouldn’t be much more given this is their third full-length album in seven years, but time does normally make for more skill, and I feel nothing but confidence for Murder Castle’s future when concerning a follow-up to “The Black Widow”.

Like I said, this isn’t an album to go crazy over but there are plenty of moments throughout the piece that make it worth listening to and I can’t help but feel that when they’re all brought together they make “The Black Widow” a solid work from front to back. Murder Castle has plenty of room for growth and improvement, but it’s here that they’ve created something for which they should be quite proud of.

LISTEN to “The Black Widow” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Murder Castle on Facebook here.