ELECTRIC
WIZARD
– Witchcult Today
Doom metal kings Electric
Wizard [MySpace]
hit the racks with a new CD last month, the evocatively
titled
Witchcult
Today. As a recent convert to their classic CDs Dopethrone and
Come My Fanatics,
I was curious to see
how band leader/singer/guitarist/mastermind
Justin Oborn would respond musically after the reportedly acrimonious
split
of the group,
which resulted in the formation of a completely new band for this
latest effort. I have to say, I was not
disappointed. Witchcult
Today is a heady brew of Sabbathian sludge, Lovecraft
and Hammer horror, and high potency
weed, boiled down in a crucible made from
the skull of a giant.
The album kicks off with the
huge and scary title track, the monolithic riff making you want
to run
inside
and bolt the doors. With a “Come, Fanatics!”, the lyrics hail the
band’s past, while Oborn and new guitarist Liz Buckingham
send huge
guitar wails careening through the air like rusty chains.
classic tale of witchery while belting out the ultra-cool chorus:
“Child of
Dunwich, Rise! You have your mother's eyes!”
I LOVE it.
The album then decelerates
into the plodding fuzz of “Drugula”, before blowing the smoke and
cobwebs away
with the short instrumental soundscape "Raptus". This gives way to "The
Chosen
Few", the tune's ascending guitar line
almost serving as a response to the title track. Contained therein at
about 3:25, you will find one of the most Sabbath-like
riffs in the entire Electric Wizard
canon. The track concludes with the dual guitarists buffeting the
listener
ocean-like with
wave after wave of thick briny distortion. Most excellent.
Next up, the crusty opening
riff of "Torquemada 71", another winner, and I am unable to ignore the
compulsion
to
bob my head to it’s monster drone.
the atmospheric opening strains remind me of the
soundtrack to a dead planet. Unfortunately, the majesty of this
track is tragically marred
during the last 5 minutes or so by a long tedious reading from the book
of evil
nonsense and
retarded back-masking, resulting in the the album’s lone misstep.
It must have sounded like a good idea at the time…