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Hey Man, They’re Like Wizards, Who Smoke

Not Tenacious D.Whether or not Wizard Smoke got their moniker from the Stoner Rock Band Name Generator, I don?t know, but the Atlanta-based five-piece has their first offering in the form of the self-released Live Rock in Hell, and in the true sprit of demo promotion, they?re giving it away for free. The zip file I downloaded contained high quality mp3s (no 128k for these doomers) as well as front and back artwork for the disc. It?s not everybody?s bag, giving away their hard work, but it should be.

For their part, Wizard Smoke, who boast former/current members of Maserati and Dust Rabbit, pull down their fly and let loose a stream of screamy doom that smells like fried chicken and leaves a stain on the rug. Their five tracks (not counting the bonus cut) are Roman numerals, not names, and they?re not in the order you might think, starting with ?II? instead of ?I? before going into ?III,? ?IV? and ending with ?I (Reprise),? You could call Live Rock in Hell an EP if you felt like it, since it?s under half an hour, but it could just as easily pass for a full-length. Suit yourself either way. I doubt the band gives a shit.

Likely, they?re too busy riffing out on something born of C.O.C. and Sleep and jamming drunkenly through their tunes as they do on their debut. The production is meh in the tradition of meh production, which will only further the requisite Eyehategod comparisons that seem to be heaped upon everything sludgy these days, but you can still get a sense of what Wizard Smoke are trying to achieve with Live Rock in Hell. And unless I?m wrong, they?re trying to fuck you up with sound.

They're here somewhere.Songs come in a range of lengths, from the livelier, start-stop stoner ?III? at 3:44 to the more methodical plod of ?II? at 8:18, and Wizard Smoke add some variety to their sound while keeping it well within the vein of modern underground sludge. Austin?s The Roller aren?t a bad comparison point, though perhaps this is less outwardly hip. Still, wouldn?t be surprised in the slightest to see these dudes opening for Sourvein sometime soon, all hailing the leaf and the South and whatnot as they do. Nothing against any of it.

The previously-alluded-to bonus track, dubbed ?IVIIIIIII,? is the entire release backwards, which is clever but entirely unlistenable. When I reversed it in Audacity to confirm my suspicions, I listened through again and, thinking about it, putting all their songs together as one track might be a good way for Wizard Smoke to go next time around. Just something for the band to think about.

On a casual level, this is stuff that?s been done before, but Wizard Smoke do it well on Live Rock in Hell, and with the asking price, I?m not about to hold any lack of individuality against them. Given some more development, I expect they?ll grow into themselves, and then they can start worrying about charging for their releases. In the meantime, doom on.

Download Wizard Smoke’s Live Rock in Hell

Wizard Smoke on MySpace

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One Response to “Hey Man, They’re Like Wizards, Who Smoke”

  1. Aaron Edge says:

    ? Thanx for the post, downloading now.

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