“Bestial powers straight from Hell
A mayhemic orgy sound
We’re all under an infernal spell
Let’s bury the posers in the ground”
(“Hard as Steel (Hot as Hell)” 1996)
Well well well, what do we have here? I will be quick to answer: this is one of the biggest, unexpected and most delicious surprises of 2026 so far in terms of blackened heavy/speed metal. After many years of absence, the mighty Swedish Hellcult of Bewitched has finally come to its senses and decided it was about time for a new, long awaited album. And what an album this is!!
30 years after their excellent debut “Diabolical Desecration“, they are back, ready to rock your world and close the circle with their 6th record, “Diabolical Death Mass“. Released on the 24th of April, the album came out on the same label that supported the band during its peak era of the mid 90s-00s, the famous Osmose Productions. And to make things even better, the record sounds as if it was written and recorded exactly during that period, in between “Diabolical Desecration” and “The Pentagram Prayer“.
When I first played the album, I was blown away from the very beginning, once the guitars kicked in. I felt as if I was teleported back to the early 2000s, when Bewitched was in my cd player all the time. After the disappointing “Spiritual Warfare” (2006), I couldn’t imagine that 20 years later Bewitched would release again an album like “Diabolical Death Mass“. But somehow they did it and I am extremely happy. Now I need to see them live as well, so promoters in Hungary, take notice!
Besides a short intro which sets the mood, “Sanguinis Altare“, the band offers us 10 hymns full of satanic speed and pure adrenalin, soaked in catchy riffs and choruses, pounding drums with lots of double bass pedals, shrieky vocals and plenty of Ughs. Add to all that the tongue in cheek satanic lyrics aimed to offend the delicate ears of the hypocrite Sunday christians and you have the full picture of how great this album is. Did I tell you that all this happens in under 35 minutes? Perfection.
“Chanting praise for the Devil
In utter blasphemy
Summon demonic forces
Through satanic sorcery“
The tracks are short and to the point, hitting you right in the face with a great old school vibe. As on their previous releases, the dirty spirit of the early Bathory albums is of course present here as well, but Bewitched knows it all too well how to incorporate their own style and madness into the mix, to make the songs even more enjoyable than before and to keep you focused till the end.
The 11 tracks create an extremely homogenous album, with absolutely no filler that could make you skip to the next track. Each song has a hook of its own, whether it’s a riff (ex. “Black Spells & Unclean Spirits“), an amazing guitar solo (ex. title track, “Revenge of the Ripper“, “Vicious and Wild“, “Enforcer of Evil” etc), some heavy metal high pitched vocals or a contagious chorus. While invoking nostalgia, they will make you bang your head and sing along, fists in the air, like there’s no tomorrow. If someone would ask me what’s my favorite song on this album, I wouldn’t be able to tell it. They all fucking rule!!
The production is also very good, giving the album a raw feeling of rock’n’roll debauchery, with each instrument clearly audible and mixed accordingly. The only thing I am a bit confused about is why Vargher‘s voice sounds different than before. It’s not bad at all, just a tad different than it used to be. It’s weird cause I recently watched a live show and his vocals had the same old familiar sound that I knew from before. Who knows, maybe they tried something different in the studio and came up with this.
This new record is pure satanic rock’n’roll, with the obvious hints of Bathory, Motorhead and lots of heavy metal thrown in the cauldron, but the result is 1000 times better than most of the retro/neo/black/thrash/speed copy cat combos that have plagued the scene since the early 2000s. In just half an hour, “Diabolical Death Mass” translates as a burst of pure energy, passion and a manifest of non conformity, a must listen for all those of the Devil born, whose spirit will always be vicious and wild.
It’s pretty clear for me that Bewitched has aged as good as the best French or Italian wines. The fact that Vargher and Wrathyr have been together for 30 years speaks volumes about the band’s strength and cohesion. On their latest record Bewitched sounds better than ever and they seem to have found again the pleasure in singing their praise to the Devil. First it was Bathory, then came Bewitched. The rest is history.
Before I end this review, I have only one advice: buy the record and
Repeat…Repeat…Repeat…
In the name of the Devil
Repeat…Repeat…Repeat…
Diabolical Death Mass
BEWITCHED – “DIABOLICAL DEATH MASS” Track List:
1. Sanguinis Altare (intro)
2. Diabolical Death Mass
3. Into the Fire
4. Crossing the Styx
5. Black Spells & Unclean Spirits
6. (Fear the) Revenge of the Ripper
7. By Satan Enslaved
8. Vicious and Wild
9. The Witch Spell (feat. Azathoth on vocals)
10. Those of the Devil Born
11. Enforcer of Evil
BEWITCHED Line Up:
VARGHER – Six-string Demoncaller, The Choir of Satan
HELLFIRE – Six-string Hellectrocution
WRATHYR – Four-string Flagellation and Death
ZOIDOR – Ritualistic Human Skin Pounding
BAND LINKS:
scrollsofdarmoth.com 
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