Dead Witches - Ouija (2017)
This debut album from Dead Witches
brings together drummer Mark Greening (of Ramesses, Electric Wizard,
and more) with vocalist Virginia Monti (Psychedelic Witchcraft) and
newcomers Greg Elk (guitar) and Carl Geary (bass). With such a
diverse set of backgrounds coming together, it's a pleasant surprise
to find their instrumental rapport so solid from the start, as they
deliver a firmly confident take on the usual stoner doom
atmospherics, keeping the preoccupation with horror and occult
fixings but seemingly uninterested in the chemical components.
Fuzzed strings, filtered vocals, and
slow-groove riffs are the makings of the album, but steered towards
the slower-paced traditional side of doom, instead of the more wild
and psychedelic inclinations I personally favor in my stoner doom.
Things feel a little too buckled-down and unwilling to take risks,
while the vocal filtering tends to drain away the emphasis and
vitality that untreated vocals could have lent the songs. At the
same time, there's a respectable focus and coherence to the songs,
with the band giving a clear demonstration of what listeners should
expect to hear from them, and for a debut album, that's a nice thing
to have.
I'd have to give my pick as peak of the
album to “Mind Funeral”, which shows a bit more energy from the
band than the other tracks; it's also the one they picked to receive
a music video in advance of the album's release. In it, you can hear
the growling bass and guitar supporting each other to nice effect,
while Monti's growls and Greening's beats swarm up in almost-angry
rattles to invoke negativity. On the whole, it's a slow-cooker of an
album, but fans of the more somber side of doom may find enough to
hook their interest and keep them tuned in until the group turns out
their next release.
~ Gabriel
For Fans Of; Crypt Trip, Nocturnal, The
Scimitar, Sons of Tonatiuh, Wizard Smoke
~
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