Hank
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Poster: Hank @ Thu Apr 28, 2011 1:25 pm
Electric Wizard - "Witchcult Today"
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After the befuddled + disappointing farewell of the original cataclysmic Electric Wizard lineup, 2002's "Let Us Prey," sole remaining member Jus Oborn took a couple years off to assemble a new band. He ended up picking his bird Liz Buckingham (ex-Sourvein) as a second guitarist, Justin Greaves on drums, and Rob al-Issa on bass. Fans looked upon this lineup with trepidation, and rightly so. Compared to the deeply sinister syncopation of Mark Greening, Greaves sounded like an accountant. Al-Issa could certainly play the bass guitar, but completely lacked the Jamaican influence that defined original Tim Bagshaw's playing and made the classic EW platters so engrossing.
The record they came up with, 2004's "We Live," sounded like a joke compared to their earlier work, and EW fanatics put on sackcloth and ashes and sat around wreathed in bitter smoke as they mourned the former lords of doom.
And so it was with great surprise that I plopped 2007's "Witchcult Today" on the turntable and was enrapt less then a minute after the needle drop. As it happened, this record turned out to be what critics call a "return to form." Here's how :
Like "Dopethrone" years before it, "Witchcult Today" wastes no time in whomping the listener with music that is powerful, tectonic, and just terribly heavy. The opening title cut envelops the listener in a sly tarlike groove while Oborn plies his tale of modern cultcraft. I'll also say here that "Witchcult Today" is one of the great song / LP titles of all time. If anyone is selling subscriptions to that magazine, sign me up.
The punches don't let up, as after seven malevolent minutes of "Witchcult," EW launches into the groovy, hard-swinging, and highly sinister "Dunwich." This song somehow manages to sound doomy even at a fast tempo; Oborn throws a slurveball in this one by doing some cool-sounding vocal harmonies. "Dunwich" is wickedly fun and brings a taste of chaotic party vibe a la White Zombie.
Next up comes the unforgettable "Satanic Rites of Drugula," which (witch) is self-parodic, cartoonish, and wonderful. "Your dope-laced blood shows me new highs," indicates Oborn. One again detects the Zombie influence here, more in the lyrics and attitude than the music; the pace is doom molasses.
Next come a couple decent tunes, "Raptus" and "The Chosen Few," but these are really just a bridge to my favorite song on this disc, the horrifying and witty "Torquemada '71." If you're like me, anytime you hear the word "Torquemada", two things come immediately to mind : the awful ethnic violence that was the Spanish Inquisition, and Mel Brooks' uproarious portrayal of the torturer Torquemada in his ribsplitting "History of the World, pt.1," wherein he treats the Inquisition as Broadway to hootworthy effect. "Torquemada : Do not ask for mercy. You can't Torquemada anything!" THE WIZARD brings so much intensity and lumbering swagger to this song that it's impossible to resist its ridiculous pull. Oh, one more thing : in this song, Oborn has Torquemada getting it on with a revenant Countess Bathory. More than any other song, this one brings back the snarl, humor, and pulverizing weight that brought us into the Electric Wizard fold to begin with.
The record closes with the thunderous ambient doom instrumental "Black Magic Rituals and Perversions," which is kind of a cop-out, but it does sound pretty cool and, as Pauly Shore would say, "stoney."
One thing about this LP that you will undoubtedly notice is that most of the songs are a variation on the same groove-riff. The title cut, "...Drugula," "The Chosen Few," and "Torquemada '71" sound verrrry similar to each other. That's OK though -- THE WIZARD is going for a kind of AC/DC / Chuck Berry formal consistency here, where all the songs are more or less the same, but they all rock and rule. Suits me just fine -- I'd rather have a whole record of samey but excellent doom than one full of pointless, vibe-robbing experimentation. As I mentioned in my Doom Metal 093 class syllabus, doom is mostly about dire atmosphere.
What are the drawbacks of "Witchcult Today?" Well, the songwriting, while quite good, isn't at the staggering, unconscionably great level that characterizes "Dopethrone." Also unlike that monumental LP, the sound of "Witchcult Today" is warm and vintagey, probably thanks to the 70s-era equipment they used for recording and the new amps that Oborn employs. It sounds good, but it doesn't sound, you know, scary. It comes off like a really good 70s dirge record. "Dopethrone" sounds like a field recording of World War III.
That said, "Witchcult Today" is on par with 1997's "Come My Fanatics" -- that is, a truly great doom metal record. It brings the requisite oppressive atmosphere in vast dusty clouds of sweet lethargy. Miss it at your soul's own peril.
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