Witching Hour's latest release, 'Descending… Where Time Has Ceased to Exist', is a disappointing return for the German black/thrash/heavy metal trio. Despite their talent for blending genres, the album fails to deliver a cohesive and engaging listening experience. The band's strength lies in their ability to straddle the lines between black metal, heavy metal, and thrash metal, but this album falls short in terms of songwriting dynamics and composition. The songs, while individually compelling, suffer from a lack of variety and recycled parts, making it difficult to distinguish one track from another. The album's closer, '…and Then Came the Flames', is a microcosm of these issues, with its grand and exciting moments ultimately undermined by repetitive structures. Witching Hour has the potential to create something truly great, but this album leaves listeners wanting more. In a world where the band embraces a greater variety of techniques, tempos, and textures, this record could have been a barnburner. As it stands, it's a disappointment, with a rating of 'Disappointing…' and a DR of 8.
