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Witchskull Sign to STB Records

Posted in Whathaveyou on December 11th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

Canberra trio Witchskull have signed to STB Records. The trio issued their debut album, The Vast Electric Dark, in October, and along with the signing comes the news that STB will release the album on vinyl early next year, which, like everything the NJ-based imprint does, I’m sure will sell out long before it’s actually available to purchase and even longer before someone like me is able to get a review going. Nonetheless, cheers to Witchskull and to STB on the union, and here’s looking forward to one more cool release in a year that’s already completely overwhelming while still being about three weeks away.

Huzzahs all around. If you haven’t heard it, The Vast Electric Dark kind of straddles the line between heavy rock and doom, all with a classic metal sense of clarity. It’s encouraging in its refusal to be one thing or another. Here’s the announcement from STB and some more background on what they do:

witchskull stb

Attention: STB Records is really excited to announce that we have new STB Family members.. Please give a warm welcome to Witchskull!! I can not be more excited to have them as part of the crew.. Look forward to a vinyl release of their latest album “The Vast Electric Dark” in early 2016…

Witchskull formed in early 2014 when old school friends Marcus De Pasquale (Looking Glass) and Joel Green (Armoured Angel) joined forces with Tony McMahon to create a blues based doom outfit.

More a brotherhood than a band, Witchskull unleash a stripped back, groove driven primal sound that reveals the bones of their rock/metal lineage.

After writing and demoing songs in mid 2014, Witchskull played shows in Canberra and joined the Sydney leg of the Doomsday Festival with Windhand and Beastwars.

Live, the band is both aurally and visually affronting, with an onstage presence that is raw, relentless and destined to cut a swathe through the live scene over the coming months.

Witchskull have recently recorded their debut album with Jason Fuller (Blood Duster, Dern Rutlidge) At Goatsound Studios, Melbourne.

“We feel we created something that is strong, raw & potent” Marcus explains “more than anything, I perceive that our spirits are caught up in it, which is reinforcing the music and creating a strong current that flows through all of us. The songs resonate and have deep meaning, and it’s as if they’ve all taken on a life of their own. Almost shamanic, is our belief in what we are doing”.

https://witchskull.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/witchskull/
https://www.facebook.com/STB-Records-471228012921184/
http://stbrecords.bigcartel.com/

Witchskull, The Vast Electric Dark (2015)

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Looking Glass, III: Heavy on the Skull

Posted in Reviews on December 7th, 2011 by JJ Koczan

Australian three-piece Looking Glass made their debut in 2006 with a self-titled offering of heavy riffs and low-bottom grooves. It was a solid first showing, had some potential, and was ultimately up-front in what it was trying to achieve – riffing out, tossing in some psych. The follow-up, 2007’s 2, was also self-released and expanded greatly the psychedelic flourishes, pushing to the fore a jammed sensibility that the first outing didn’t have. It too was more a showing of potential, though, and listening to this year’s III, it seems as though Looking Glass – guitarist/vocalist Marcus de Pasquale, bassist/vocalist/keyboardist Lachlan Paine and drummer Clinton Paine – have spent the last four years making sure the potential they showed their last two times out started paying off. In short, it worked. III – the switch to Roman numerals being evident in the digipak artwork – blends the approaches of Looking Glass’ two prior releases, focusing in its earlier tracks on riffy drive and rhythmic crunch, and then gradually shifting into more spacious and expansive elements, more than doubling the runtime of songs like the catchy “Electric Mistress” or “Child of Vertigo” with the massive closing duo “Wizard of the Skull” (12:05) and “The King in Yellow” (11:07).

But for the smoothness of the transition by which that shift takes place, III would almost certainly be following a vinyl structure. Rather, it seems to be that rare thing these days: a CD actually meant to be a CD. The 49 minutes have a linear pattern, so that as “Child of Vertigo” (4:46) gives way to the transitional “Spiral Altar” (8:47), there’s less of a jump than there might be if, say, you were meant to flip a record from one side to the other. That said, the last two tracks are just about two minutes shorter than the five preceding, and that time can be largely accounted for in the acoustic interlude “Shores of Carcosa,” which divides opener “Heavy on the Hook” and “Electric Mistress” from “Child of Vertigo” and “Spiral Altar,” so maybe it could go either way. In any case, Looking Glass do well with the compact disc structure, and the progression of their songs is carried across without sounding forced or losing the momentum built by the first several tracks. To that end, “Heavy on the Hook” lives up to its name as the launch for III. Undeniably riff-based, it finds Marcus shouting far back in the mix behind Clinton’s propulsive drumming and righteously thick fills from Lachlan. At about halfway through, the groove opens up, Lachlan hits the wah and things go full-stoner, which serves as a solid lead-in for “Electric Mistress,” which is III’s best chorus and most classic jam. Marcus unrepentantly noodles through a solo and Sabbathian transitions smoothly executed by the Paines lead the way back into the song’s inevitable finish. By the time “Shores of Carcosa” comes on with a bit of finger, the breather is appreciated.

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On the Radar: Looking Glass

Posted in On the Radar on August 3rd, 2010 by JJ Koczan

Yeah, I know I kind of have a thing for the Oceania stoner/doom scene (Pod People, Arc of Ascent, etc.) but you take one listen to the killer riffage coming out of Canberra trio Looking Glass and see if you’re not right there with me. They’ve got two EPs out, aptly titled Looking Glass (2006) and 2 (2007), and there are four songs up for listening on their MySpace. One comes from 2, the other three from Looking Glass.

I heard “Freya” first, which is the track from 2. There’s a ton of space in the guitars of Marcus de Pasquale (who also handles vocals), but even has he launches into a massive solo that engulfs about half the seven-minute song, I’m even more mesmerized by the grooves of the rhythm section. Bassist Lachlan Paine and drummer Clinton Paine, relation assumed, seem to be holding the song down for de Pasquale, as if to say, “We got this, you go ahead and mess around for a while” in classic ’70s jam fashion. Lachlan‘s bass tone features on “Freya,” but also on “Psychonaut” from Looking Glass, which by and large is more straightforward with rougher production. The same could be said for the shorter “Procession” and “Acid Tongue,” the latter of which is easily the fastest of the four, but all of which sport some serious grooves.

The playing of de Pasquale is going to be a highlight for riff junkies, and as Looking Glass prepare their next release for this coming Fall, I wouldn’t be surprise to see them head in an even more psychedelic direction, though I certainly hope de Pasquale keeps some of the meat in his riffs as he shows in the classically metallic “Procession.” Wherever they go from here, Looking Glass‘ two EPs are definitely worth a look on MySpace, and the Aussie trio are yet another killer act from Down Under on the radar.

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