"It was the first time we've deliberately written a body of work," says Alex, before describing their previous EP as "a bunch of singles just thrown together. Before we were always such like a live band that writing kind of took a backseat." It's meant that everything up to this point has felt "very thrashy" as the band set about trying to whip the crowd into a frenzy. "With the album, we wanted to incorporate more space and allow more dynamics. We were able to explore what Witch Fever was, what defined Witch Fever's sound."

Despite the weight of a debut body of work, the band didn't have a whole lot of time to get the album together – the joys of fitting in music around full-time jobs. The timeline was reduced even more when producer Sam Grant's PigsPigsPigsPigsPigsPigsPigs got a last-minute, post-pandemic tour, meaning Witch Fever had to record a month earlier than originally planned. They finished writing the album in the studio and only had a week and a half to get everything done. "There was definitely a time pressure on us," says Alex. "It was a really good test for us, though," and made sure the band couldn't overthink anything. The end result is "a really good dive into our essence."

Witch Fever finished recording their album almost a year ago, and have been patiently sitting on it ever since. There have been moments where the band have wished they'd changed a tone here, a vocal line there, especially after playing the tracks live, but they remain unwavering in their confidence. "I know it's good," says Alex. They're right, too. 'Reincarnate' touches on a variety of different tones and moods without ever feeling incomplete.

Each member of the group has their own specific influences. Vocalist Amy Walpole, for example, loves Pianos Become The Teeth ("at the start of their career, their vocals were so heavy, so painful and so emotional, and each album since has got less heavy but no less brilliant"). Alisha, on the other hand, has "literally never listened to them." Across 'Reincarnate' there are nods to Black Sabbath, Warpaint, Talking Heads, Depeche Mode, Show Me The Body, Rage Against The Machine, Self-Esteem and Deftones, but Witch Fever always sound like themselves.

According to various press releases, 'Congregation' largely explores Amy's experiences growing up in the Charismatic Church, a branch of Christianity that her parents joined when they were younger, and she was born into. She left when she was 16, the final straw being the lack of support for her mental health, while her parents followed suit two years later.

Across the record, themes of belief, abuse of power and control come up time and time again. "It's very obvious what the record's about," says Amy. "You're dumb to think I would choose this," she sings on the rumbling 'Blessed Be Thy' while frantic closing track '12' features the lines "Don't need to be touched for it to make an impression. I never got an apology. I carry it with me, the things that he said. Thought it was my fault, I was only a kid."

"Some of the songs were very much written all about me," Amy explains. 'Congregation' and '12', those are selfish ones. But then other songs like 'Sour' were more for other people. It's less personal and more just like an expression of anger and wanting to fight back against oppression.

She goes on to say that despite the personal nature of 'Reincarnate', performing the songs live has been fine, but in interviews, she's had to learn how to say no "because really, I don't owe anybody shit. Some publications have explicitly told me they need more details about what I went through in order for us to get coverage. I've been asked specifically who the person I'm singing about in '12' is – what, do you want the police report? It's such a bizarre question." She goes on to state that she will probably discuss things in more detail, but when the time's right and on her own terms.

Despite the weight of what Witch Fever are singing about on 'Reincarnate', the album is a colourful journey of excitement. "I want people to be inspired by it," says Alisha." And feel empowered, not necessarily by the music but by what we're doing as a band."

Some of the lyrics are tongue-in-cheek, while others take the religious phrases that were once used as a form of control and twists them. "It's like we're flipping the power. I keep saying power, but we're owning what's happened and having fun with it at the same time," explains Alex. "We want to encourage people to own their own stuff and have fun with it too."

That doesn't mean the band shy away from anger, though. As Alex explains, "there's power in how you think and feel. And if people want to tell you differently, fuck them. Emotions aren't a bad thing."

Alisha grew up feeling pissed off but not knowing why. Anytime she expressed that angst, she was told not to because it wasn't ladylike. "It's really useful now to be able to tap into that anger in a way that's actually going to do something, rather than just sitting there and it making me feel like shit."

A few weeks ago, Witch Fever put up a story on Instagram criticising the monarchy in the UK for their history of protecting alleged paedophiles, colonising nations and "along with the government, the church and the police, consistently holding oppressive structures in place to varying degrees that are racist, sexist, classist, homophobic, transphobic and ableist for generations."

Alex ended up having a row with her mum about it, with her saying how the band were going to lose followers for speaking out. "Who fucking cares? It's how we all feel. There's this constant downplaying of opinion or expression where you have to keep everything to yourself in order to keep up appearances. I fucking hate that. You should be able to feel how you feel and express how you feel."

They spoke about similar issues while on tour with Cancer Bats, and at one show, some clever dick shouted, "music, not politics".

"We're a punk band; you're at a punk gig. If you're privileged enough that you can separate the two, then you more than anybody should be listening to what other people have to say," is what the band said at the time and what Alex reiterates today. "It really pisses me off because there are so many levels of oppression that I have to deal with every day. It's so exhausting, and it's so much worse for other people as well," Amy adds.

"It doesn't matter who you go out on tour with; there's always going to be dickheads," says Alisha. "Just by the nature of being women and non-binary people, we anger people when we're not even trying to. There's a certain level of respect that those older moshers give to men that they don't extend to us. We can't control that," adds Alex. So where does the energy come from to keep going and to keep fighting?

Witch Fever's debut comes at a time when a band like Crawlers are making waves with their emo anthems about depression and mental illness, Canada's Spiritbox are touring arenas with Ghost while Poppy is out with The Smashing Pumpkins and Jane's Addiction. Closer to home, Nova Twins have been shortlisted for the Mercury Prize.

"There's definitely a new wave of heavy bands," says Alex. At a recent awards show, they saw first-hand how all the legendary categories were full of white men being nominated "while all the new awards were much more varied. I do think the tides are turning. There's still the antiquated idea of metal, though, but it feels like an entirely separate scene. We exist in a community of like-minded musicians. We know we have lots of peers that feel the same way as us, even if the music they make sounds different. That community is a nice thing to have."

Heavy metal as a genre isn't just getting more diverse either; it's also going through a resurgence with more and more kids resonating with bands like Witch Fever. "Heavy music unites so many people, and it brings so many people together," starts Amy, before Alex explains how "it's impossible not to be influenced by music in some way. It's so direct, whether that's purely the feeling it expresses or the political agenda it talks about. It's a really direct way of sharing things with a community of people."

Across 'Reincarnate' and throughout our hour-long interview, Witch Fever are excited about what comes next. "People keep telling us how mad everything that's happening with the band is, but we're just in it," says Alex. "I definitely feel this buzz around us, though. I feel like we've got something special between us."