Witch - Witch (2006)

"Like all bands of its stripe, they owe an enormous debt to prime Black Sabbath. Thomas' voice isn't as unique as Ozzy's, but by the same token he's not as annoying either. Sabbath's emphasis on Herculean riffs certainly informs the core of Witch's music, but most of the rest of the sound is filled in by influences more from heavy rock than from the increasingly technical and rarefied straits of metal. Saint Vitus and Sleep, yes, but also everyone from Blue Cheer (the chugging “Soul of Fire”) to Comets on Fire (the amazingly molten “Changing”). The lyrics, written by Thomas, are uniformly concerned with sorcery and the supernatural, but anyone who seriously thinks that's a drawback really needs to hear the grinding churn of the guitars on the opening “Seer,” or the end of the explosive “Hand of Glory.”

Witch manage to do a lot more in forty minutes with little more than a bunch of badass riffs and a decent rhythm section than most metal bands these days can do with seventy minutes. Witch is short and sweet and driving enough to inspire some serious grade headbanging; about the biggest worry surrounding this album is the fear that Mascis and Feathers might leave this as a one-off side project. Avant folk's gain would be doom metal's loss: As good as some of the artsier acts in this genre are, Witch is that rare band that focuses on just providing some incredibly heavy rock and roll in such a compelling fashion that they temporarily render all other considerations moot."
(Ian Mathers - Stylus Magazine)


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