Bewitched

Except for adopting the ever-popular corpse-paint makeup look, Sweden's Bewitched bucks all the usual trends of Scandinavian metal, avoiding the prevalent death, black, and Viking strains to embrace a retro style of thrash metal that was popular in the early to mid-'80s. In fact, some might even label the group -- founded by vocalist Vargher (Marcus Norman), guitarist Blackheim (Anders Nyström), bassist Wrathyr (Kristofer Olivius), and drummer Reaper in 1995 -- a pre-thrash proposition, more akin to the speed metal pioneered by bands like Venom and Exciter. Quickly signing wit...