If there was one thing that could jumpstart our weekends, it would be Congregation, a nail-biting, angsty and energy-charged debut album by the tenacious four-piece outfit, Witch Fever. Coming just in time for the spooky season, Witch Fever annihilate dark themes from control to the abuse of power and patriarchal violence, unleashing their anger into fiery bars and screaming lyricism. One of the most challenging and boundary-pushing efforts of the band yet, Congregation draws upon the experiences of each band member, chewed up and spit out alongside drilling production and raspy vocals.

Opening with “Blessed Be Thy”, the evolved performance of lead vocalist Amy Walpole is palpable from the off. An impossible-to-ignore narrative on shame and deception, “Blessed Be Thy” sets the tone of the entire tracklist. “It just goes heavy,” says Alex Thompson. “I think it still has an essence of some of our older material, so it’s a good way to bridge the gap,” he adds.

Also featuring on the effort, the single “I Saw You Dancing” comes complete with an electrifying visual that perfectly encapsulates Witch Fever’s spirit. The raw footage perfectly mirrors the grit of the track, showcasing Walpole’s unfiltered and imitable cadence. And with the album’s titular track now boasting it’s own visual interpretation, Witch Fever sparks the nostalgia of classic 90s grunge and punk, making Congregation more than just an album. Instead, it is an audial and visual diary of the band’s entire journey so far.

To celebrate the debut, we sat with Alex Thompson and Amy Walpole to discuss the making of Congregation, the themes it explores and their goals for the future. To stream the album, video and for the full interview, head below now…

Congratulations on being announced for The Great Escape First Fifty – that’s exciting first of all! What can fans expect next month at the gig?
ALEX: Expect deafening riffs you can bang your heads to – and maybe Amy on a bar top!

We love your name! Can you unpack exactly what ‘witch fever’ feels like?
ALEX: Witch Fever stands for empowerment and the use of anger as a positive tool of expression.

You hail from Manchester, a city with a vast musical legacy. How do you think your origins have informed your sound today?
ALEX: Manchester has a rich history of music that can sometimes make the scene feel like it heralds too much to the past. We try to not be trapped by the heritage and push what Manchester music is defined by.

We’ve been really enjoying Congregation. If you could describe the record to someone who knows nothing about Witch Fever, what would you say?
ALEX: Full rage mode.

Tell us about the first steps in making Congregation! How do you go about starting to make your debut record?
ALEX: We started writing the record 2 years ago without a real agenda. It was only near the end where we started to stand back that we saw all of the overarching themes that define the record! Our only real goal going into the record was to create dynamics and utilise space more than our previous EP.

We read that recording the album has allowed you to really explore your sound. What’s the biggest thing you learned by making it?
ALEX: We learned that heaviness isn’t necessarily defined by having the loudest or thrashiest riffs. A lot of our most impactful writing is in the nuances and the space we created.

The themes of control, power abuse, and patriarchal violence are at the heart of Congregation, at least partly owing to Amy’s experience in the Charismatic Church. Can you tell us a bit about how you found interrogating those themes in the project?
Amy: I wasn’t really thinking much about what I wanted the album to be about in terms of a concept and it kinda just happened naturally!! Honestly it feels cathartic and liberating to have it all out in a body of work and it’s surprising that all the themes of the songs fit so well together considering it wasn’t done on purpose! There’s a small element of nervousness about it because some of the lyrics are quite personal but overall it feels like a good thing!

The “Congregation” video is amazing and we love how you balance the colour palette of that with the darker lyrical themes of the music. When do you guys start thinking of visual counterparts to your songs?
ALEX: Yes! When we were coming up with ideas for the label Amy suggested we be ‘violent with colour’! We wanted to use bright colours to express the intensity of the lyrics and music. We started thinking about visual counterparts as soon as the album was recorded! There’s been a whole year of planning between recording and the release!

You’re at an important junction with your debut record on the way, however, what’s one big thing you would love to achieve down the line?
ALEX: Our ultimate goal is for us all to be able to quit our day jobs! Outside of that I would love to tour America, maybe perform on Jools Holland and play more arena/stadium shows!