LEAD INJECTOR – Witching Attack

vote
7.5

• Bands:
  LEAD INJECTOR
• Duration: 00:44:18
• Available from: 02/20/2026
• Label:

• High Roller Records

Streaming not yet available

Convincing recording debut for the Saxons Lead Injector, who, after the self-produced 2022 demo “From the Crypts… of Hell”, release their first full-length entitled “Witching Attack” for the High Roller Records label: a product entirely 'made in Germany' right from the sound, because we are in the presence of ten pieces of black/speed/thrash metal strongly linked to the Teutonic tradition of the early Eighties.

The concept is the classic one of the primordial black/speed/thrash metal scene of the Ruhr and Baden-Württemberg between blasphemy, chains, inverted crosses, studs, cartridge belts, and a pinch of war and nuclear themes that never hurt.
The Dresden trio is so faithful to the original principles of the genre that they even use strictly black face painting around the eyes. In practice, the objective is to revive the attitude, musical and otherwise, of historical groups such as Sodom (from “Witching Metal” to “Obsessed By Cruelty”), Kreator (the first two demos such as Tormentor, plus “Endless Pain”) and Destruction (the three-year period 1984-1987); in short, the initial period of the sacred monsters of the German scene during the years of transition from the speed roots inherited from Venom to purely thrash sounds.
The legacy is therefore that of 1980s Germany, yes, but there is also no shortage of references to the speed revival of the 21st century, with similarities in image and sound to the most current standard-bearers of the genre such as Midnight, Nuctemeron and Deathhammer.

On a musical level, in addition to the classic tsunami of d-beat rides typical of speed metal, there are also passages that tend more towards punk, as in the engaging and rhythmic title track, in the subsequent “Chains” and in the final “Nuclear Antichrist”.
The majority of the pieces are instead set on a frontal assault in full early Sodom style, but with more reasoned compositional structures and certainly superior cleanliness of execution.
In the fast parts, the guitar-drums pairing also recalls the 1986-87 period of Living Death and the Iron Angel of “Hellish Crossfire”, even if Lead Injector's voice is much more extreme than those of the godfathers of the genre, Thorsten Toto Bergmann and Dirk Schröder, because the boys from Dresden prefer an approach very similar to that of Tom Angelripper, with also growling passages as in “Infinte Force”. However, a series of short falsetto high notes are inserted here and there, capable of bringing to mind the classic vocalizations of the first Tom Araya (mainly in “Chains”).
The bass sound is also massive and distorted, another clear reference to Angelripper, which emerges forcefully in “Evil Executioner”, a clear homage to the very first Destruction with “Pest Thrash”: three minutes at full speed in which a series of hyper-elaborated Mike Sifringer-style guitar intertwining and a rough Schmier-style voice stand out. It doesn't stand out for its technicalities, but it does its thing, the drums, which are based on a simple and impactful framework, in which the double bass drum is little used, while the use of long rolls on the toms in full Witchhunter/Ventor style is not disdained.

The cover is a bit tacky and cheap, while the logo seems more death rock than speed metal, but in any case it doesn't look completely alien compared to the rest of the package. “Witching Attack” is a record that certainly doesn't scream miracle, but it is undoubtedly a work consistent with its initial intent: to catapult the listener into the German metal scene of the early 1980s.
A result that is not to be taken for granted: yet, Lead Injector reach their goal without hesitation, because they never fall into the trap of being tempted by refinements or contaminations typical of a production dated 2025, instead managing to maintain a sound as faithful as possible to that of the origins.
If you love amarcord and uncompromising sounds, the Lead Injectors are definitely for you; if you're looking for originality, stay away!