- -- Release information ----------------------------------------------- -- -
Artist : Witchcraft
Album : Firewood
Genre : Rock
Year : 2012
Label : Rise Above Records
Cat# : RISELP 155
Source : Vinyl
Bitrate : VBRKbps
Size : 80,9 MB
Runtime : 44:45 min
URL : n/a
- -- Tracklist -------------------------------------------------------- -- -
01. Chylde Of Fire 02:48
02. If Wishes Were Horses 03:13
03. Mr Haze 03:39
04. Wooden Cross (I Can't Wake The Dead) 04:42
05. Queen Of Bees 05:09
06. Merlin's Daughter 01:30
07. I See A Man 03:57
08. Sorrow Evoker 05:38
09. You Suffer 02:41
10. The Invisible 04:54
11. Attention! 03:48
12. When The Screams Come 02:46
- -- Release notes ---------------------------------------------------- -- -
1xVinyl LP
1xVinyl 7" Single sided
Review Summary: With an excellent blend of stoner,
psychedelic, and doom, Witchcraft will surely take you back
to the 70s.
When asked about the birth of doom metal (or heavy metal in
general), most people will most likely point their fingers at
Birmingham-based act Black Sabbath with their scathing blues
rock style. So, naturally, dozens of bands nowadays try to
imitate their role models, either to simply regurgitate their
sound or to actually bring the power and energy of 70s rock
back. Swedish hard rockers Witchcraft belong with the latter
group, creating an excellent blend of stoner, psychedelic,
and doom that will surely take you back to the 70s.
In fact, Witchcraft does not recall Black Sabbath as much as
one would expect. Since their self-titled debut in 2004, they
lessened the doom influences, instead opting for a more
traditional hard rock style with a lot of psychedelic
influences. Still, Black Sabbath, alongside doom pioneers
Pentagram, are the most obvious influences here. You are
clearly reminded of those powerhouses throughout Firewood,
their second album just a year after their debut, especially
due to working in a basement studio with vintage equipment,
perfectly recapturing the sound of the seventies in the way.
Opener and first single "Chylde of Fire", with its catchy
guitar riffs, upbeat bass, and pounding drums, already
creates that nostalgic feeling Witchcraft aims for and once
captivated by its charm, Firewood never lets go. Be it the
thrilling "Mr. Haze" with its changing song tempos, the most
Sabbath-esque slow-burners "Queen of Bees" and "I See a Man"
or the more straightforwardly rocking "Attention!", you have
no chance but to be amazed at how charming and direfully
listenable this album is. They even show homage to their
archetypes with the hidden track and Pentagram cover "When
the Screams Come" which fits into the album extremely well ,
but lacks the crushing riffs and the mellow yet heavy sound
of the original.
Alongside the supremely done riffs and vivid bass lines
spread throughout the whole album, the voice and range of
vocalist Magnus Pelander, reminiscent of Pentagram frontman
Bobby "Plugie" Liebling, is the main draw here. Highly
accented and pretty bizarre at first, his soaring voice
slowly takes you over and show its beauty, especially in
"Sorrow Evoker's" first half, in which he shines with a
brilliant vocal performance, being simply accompanied with an
acoustic guitar. To avoid a completely monotonous listen
(both Magnus' voice and the riffs can get bland in the whole
run), small doses of experimental bits can be found
throughout Firewood. The already mentioned song tempo changes
during "Mr. Haze", a much-welcomed relief and gives it
distinguishable traits, the comparatively upbeat and short
"Merlin's Daughter" which divides the record, as well as the
flute used midway in "Sorrow Evoker" all help in diversifying
Witchcraft's sound.
Unlike many of their contemporaries, they truly recapture the
sound of their influences, while adding splendid songwriting,
artful playing and a genuine atmosphere. And although
creativity is still not something they are brilliant at,
sounding like nothing more than a mirror image of Black
Sabbath and Pentagram on paper, Witchcraft created an unique
sound with Firewood.
Recommended Tracks: If Wishes Were Horses, Mr. Haze, Sorrow
Evoker
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