This album caught me by surprise. The legendary indie rock band Dinosaur Jr. has always been a band I was familiar with because J. Mascis—the man behind the band—is the cousin of one of my best friends, not to mention the fact that they’re really good (those fuzzy solos are so nice). Not many people realize this, but in the Eighties Mascis also played drums in a punk/hardcore band called Deep Wound and in the early Nineties a doom metal band called Upsidedown Cross. He revisits that doom style with Witch (not to be confused with the Eighties metal band of the same name) and once again trades in his guitar and wah pedal for a set of drums. He’s joined by Kyle Thomas (guitar and vocals) and Asa Irons (guitar), both from the avant-folk/rock band Feathers, and Dave Sweetapple (bass).

Witch play a slightly mixed bag of doom metal styles: traditional, stoner and psychedelic, though heavy on the traditional side of the spectrum with a good dose of Seventies rock. The cabalistic lyrical content may remind you of Witchcraft, and fans of the legendary St. Vitus or even Pentagram—without the laughable Muppet vocals—may hear musical similarities, but Witch partake in more of the Seventies stoner/psych rock than those aforementioned bands (at least the latter two), I think. This is consistently reinforced by Kyle Thomas’s vocals when his upper-range approach begins to sound somewhat akin to that of old school Robert Plant. The guitar work throughout the album is excellent, rife with solos and flawless grooves courtesy of the Sabbath-heavy riffs. Sweetapple’s bass runs and clear tone in the mix make his instrument more of a standout element rather than a unnoticed companion to the rhythm; and the foundation being held together by Mascis’s standard but very solid drumming.

The album starts in epic form with the stunning “Seer,” a glorious doom-laden jam permeated by a monstrous, grooving riff, spine-tingling vocals and some fantastic soloing throughout its almost 8-minute march. The same formula is applied to other tracks like the stalking stomp of “Black Saint”—accompanied by a rifftastic two and a half minute closing jam punctuated by some impressive dual leads—and the mind-wearying ebb and flow of the heavy, lead-driven “Rip Van Winkle.” With the first six songs painting on coat after coat of heavy, doom-riddled texture you might find yourself scratching your head when the final song, “Isadora,” opens with acoustic passages and subtle vocals in an eerie, end of days melancholia that lasts for almost four minutes before reluctantly opening the door to the heavy riffs and solos that monopolized the first six songs. The song ends with some solid, plodding, traditional doom metal riffs with Kyle Thomas singing “Isadora” over and over again; then there’s a few seconds of feedback and silence. This is generally where I hit play again.

With all these newer bands out there like The Sword, Saviours, Blood Of The Sun, Priestess, Dixie Witch and Early Man (all excellent bands) imparting their varying degrees of Seventies-influenced stoner rock and doom upon our ears it may start to feel a bit overwhelming, especially as labels start to shove more and more down our throats. But like with all genres catching a little fire in the mainstream there are going to be many diamonds within the deepening, sucking mud. Witch are one of those diamonds.

AUDIO: “Seer” and “Rip Van Winkle” (7-inch version) at http://www.teepeerecords.com/bands/witch
“Soul Of Fire” at http://www.myspace.com/witchofficial

Note: In time these links will likely becoming outdated.