Review: Leatherwitch – First Spell

Review by Sandre the Giant Released: 29th May 2026 Sometimes a band falls out of nowhere onto your lap, and you can’t quite believe your luck. That band for me today is Poland’s Leatherwitch, the sole work of vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/heavy metal lifer Marta Gabriel who those in the know would remember as the brains behind the sadly departed heavy metal heroes Crystal Viper. Well, it looks like Leatherwitch is going to be the continuation of that style for those of us in need. I literally read about this album in a PHYSICAL magazine sitting in a park this morning and queued it up on my phone, which feels like a remarkably old fashioned thing to do but maybe that added to the joy of the discovery. Anyway, ‘First Spell’ is out now through Listenable Records! As opener ‘Heroes and the Dice’ builds up with sweet melodic lead guitar work and then bursts into a galloping, almost thrashy speed metal pace I think it is immediately apparent that this is going to be good. Leatherwitch are…