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The whole female-fronted retro-doom band seems to have become a kind of a thing, but it is still producing cool music, so I am not yet sick of the trend – hell, I'm still not quite calling it a trend. Castle are a band from San Francisco who have to distinction of being on the mega-kvlt Van label from Germany. Van has been branching out from its original Black Metal base with some mixed results, but this is a worthy signing, and In Witch Order is a worthy album.

Despite that they are a female-fronted Doom band, Castle do not really sound much like other bands like Jex Thoth or Blood Ceremony. Castle are harder, faster, and uglier than any of those retro acts, with a riff style that is more Bathory than Black Sabbath. This is heavy and pummeling headbang fuel, with standout cuts like "Slaves of the Pharaoh", "Spellbinder", and "Sleeping Giant", though there are not really any slow spots or dead zones on this disc, it just cranks up and kicks ass for the whole duration. Consistency is a rare thing these days, but Castle have made a solid disc that keeps a dark, evil atmosphere the whole way through while putting your neck in some serious pain. A really strong debut from a promising band.