Rating: 9.4

Country: USA

Release Date: 2006

Track list:
1. Seer
2. Soul Of Fire
3. Black Saint
4. Changing
5. Rip Van Winkle
6. Hand Of Glory
7. Isadora

Witch - Self-titled

J Mascis- Drums
Dave Sweetapple- Bass
Kyle Thomas- Guitars & Vocals
Asa Irons- Guitars

Yeah, this is pretty bloody good! I picked this up on a whim after discovering that J Mascis had a hand in it (yeah, I'm a big Dinosaur Jr fan), and after reading reviews that made favorable parallels with the immortal Pentagram, a band that I think I've gushed over enough times in my effusive doom-related reviews. Since its release, this record appears to have attracted a host of yammering truer-than-thou doom acolytes, all of whom are quick to paint Witch into the ironic metal corner inhabited by the likes of The Sword and other snide hipster-come-latelys, J Mascis' presence in the project prompting some to liken Witch to the corporate cash-in that was Probot (it has to be said, I really like that record!). Such conclusions, I assure you, are spectacularly unfair, for while this record does flirt extensively with Black Sabbath, Bedemon and Pentagram references, these influences are but minute (though distinctive) smatterings in the Witch sonic potpourri. Instead, this is more aligned with the Queens Of The Stone Age, Dead Meadow, Oneida, Pearls And Brass, Ghost, Acid Mothers Temple, Ruins, Comets On Fire and other such volume-peddlers that offer a neo-freakout, heavy-psych-revival dimension to today's heavy rock arena. Certainly, this is “metal” if you consider the likes of Dust, Blue Cheer, Wishbone Ash, Blackwater Park, Stone Garden and Bang to be metal, for this recording finds something in common with each of those ‘70s heavyweights.

It is a bit anticlimactic that the strongest track on the platter is also the opening number, “ Seer” being a MASSIVE song that simultaneously balances a poundingly heavy acid rock main riff with a wasted, intoxicating weightlessness, something that owes itself to the fluid, velvety-smooth, wah-soaked guitar sound, a thoroughly entrancing, mesmerizingly ritualistic rhythm section, as well as Kyle Thomas' outstanding, disaffected Lou-Reed-on-even-more-downers-and-helium vocals (again, the ‘60s Secret Saucer/Velvet Underground- isms really reminding me of Dead Meadow circa 'Howling King') . The spontaneity and freewheeling fluidity of it all is really quite breathtaking, this is clearly a group of seasoned freakrock/jam-band hairies, and the band seamlessly link a string of seemingly disparate parts together with commendable aplomb, Irons and Thomas adding piquant accents to it all with some OUTSTANDING lashes of white-hot lead guitar throughout. 4 minutes into the track, the recurring themes collapse into a suggestive, ominous murmur, Dave Sweetapple's lonesome bassline gaining progressive thrust amidst persistent braying guitar, everything reaching a FEVERISH, cathartic climax before erupting back into the forceful main riff, Thomas' manic howl and strangely Josh Homme-esque lead closing things out with a bang.

“Soul Of Fire” opens with an offbeat Sir Lord Baltimore -esque sprint, a garage-y, fierce pulse that shifts into a heavy, off-balance space-psych vortex of progressive Kraut proportions, reminding one perhaps of certain German bands that took the 'Space Ritual' format and catapulted it to hellish new heights. An insistent, repetitious rhythm and limber bassline solidify and cement themselves beneath acerbic, madman lead guitar pyrotechnics, bringing to mind “Chub Chub Cherry”, the most restrained number on Silberbart's mind-expanding Kraut meisterwerk, 'Four Times Sound Razing'. “ Black Saint” playfully toys with me, the listener eager to unearth the doomy leanings that so many fellow reviewers have identified with such off-handed ease, introducing the song with a crawling, “ Black Sabbath” guitar figure that seems to promise a similarly despondent requiem to come. Alas, such expectations are ruthlessly shot to bits within seconds, the mischievous Witch launch, with reckless abandon, into a churning, heavy-progressive schizophrenia that, in its frenetic, awkward yet fluent guitar-driven energy, really reminds me of the heavier sections on madcap ‘70s Scandinavian outings like Elonkorjuu and Asoka. Utter BRLLIANCE to be had here, the band fully exploiting the very limits of their twin guitar setup to deliver a searing, discombobulating listen. Not to be outdone, J Mascis unleashes his inner Bonham (circa “ Achilles Last Stand”) while Dave Sweetapple assumes the role of the archetypal Entwistle/Glover, holding everything together with a dependable sturdiness/sureness. The sheer SYNCHRONICITY of the band alone justifies a purchase, really.

Things again appear to take a more sedate, downer rock direction with the introduction of “ Changing”, only to assume an exotic, folky Asiatic heavy-prog shape that vaguely reminds me of, say, a much more straightforward Amon Düül II or Flower Travellin' Band, the über cool descending, multi-tracked guitar runs that surface in the track 4 minutes through further consolidating comparisons to similarly minded burnout/freakout monsters of yore.

It is not until “ Rip Van Winkle” that the very first hints of Pentagram shine through the mix, though it must be said that the leanings here are MUCH more derivative of Bedemon than Pentagram, the monolithic, horrific chords and scintillating lead licks SCREAMING Randy Palmer, while J Mascis does his damndest to emulate Geof O'Keefe's coffin-smashing performance on those legendary warehouse recordings. It must be said, the track is a GREAT imitation, sounding like a legitimate outtake from the 'Child Of Darkness' recordings, with everything from the rough, abrasive rhythm guitar sound to the HOWLING, SCREECHING demonic Randy Palmer lead style echoing vintage Bedemon. “Hand Of Glory” is another resolute testament to the mad scientist genius of this wacky troupe, each instrument seemingly veering off into its own tangential headspace before coalescing into a convincingly Pentagram-ish hook section, while “Isadora”, perhaps unintentionally, echoes the same desolate, “Orchid” -by-way-of- Mellow-Candle atmospherics of Cathedral's “Hide and Seek” , an eerie, minimalistic and atmospheric acoustic guitar number that wafts menacingly for the first three minutes, exerting a ghostly presence that seemingly promises to conclude the recording in spooked-out fashion. Not so, for nothing in the world of Witch is quite what it seems- the acoustic guitar is briskly jettisoned for an angsty, powerful break adorned with an equally phantasmal lead, the track once again reviving the spirits of Bedemon and Iron Claw to do its dark bidding, ending a dizzyingly variegated recording with a conveniently doomy sequence, as if to appease the self-important music writers that have been, for the past 40:29, stumbling over themselves in a frenzied attempt to categorize the sounds contained within.

I have played this record about 20 times since I picked it up three days ago, and each listen yields the same discoveries- this is a startlingly accomplished and astonishingly complete offering for a debut record. For an album that is so jam-intensive, there is close to no extraneous flab to be found here, and though the album features relatively long compositions, the extremely high caliber musicianship and the bold imagination exhibited by the songwriting makes each and every song a veritable musical expedition in itself. Somehow, the band manages to synthesize the late ‘60s US acid-psych of Savage Resurrection and Morgen, linking these garagey sensibilities with indie riff-slinging champions like The Bevis Frond, Kyuss and Meat Puppets, Scandinavian/German heavy progressive and a healthy yen for all things Black Sabbath and Bedemon, in turn shaping a brazen, assured new sound that I find incomparable to anything else I've heard of late. Consummate, professional and watertight while exemplifying the loose fluency that I adore so much about sweltering, genuine heavy music, this is ‘70s metal revived, repackaged and revitalized for a metal-savvy 2006 public. So good.

May 14th, 2006