Ancient Warlocks, II: Thunder Punch Benediction (Plus Full Album Stream)
[Click play above to stream Ancient Warlocks’ II in full. Album is out March 19 on STB Records.]
It was only late last year that Seattle four-piece Ancient Warlocks issued what was purported to be the final edition of their 2013 self-titled debut (review here), and like all the others, it went quickly. STB Records had it out in the US (Lay Bare Recordings in Europe, with distro through Burning World), and the same New Jersey-based imprint stands behind the first and presumably subsequent pressings of Ancient Warlocks II, the band’s second full-length. Presented in the deluxe style for which STB has become known, even the “not-so-standard” edition of the LP matches its brown-and-bone platter to the Adam Burke cover art, while the OBI strip edition comes in a gorgeous splatter and marble combo on transparent vinyl, and the die hard (100 pressed) is blue splatter vinyl and comes with a previously-unannounced live companion album on which Ancient Warlocks play songs from both records.
Heavy stock jackets, stickers, a test-press edition — II is being given the treatment which the self-titled seemed to earn, and fairly enough so. The new album, seven tracks but just 27 minutes, splits neatly into two sides, begins with its longest cut (immediate points), and wastes none of its relatively brief runtime in honing a live, natural sound, flowing as an onstage set might toward the fuzzy bounce of closer “Benediction” as it reaffirms the band as a Pacific Northwest answer to the sunshiny classic heavy fuzz of Fu Manchu. A little bit bluesier, a little earthier grit to their approach, but still locking in tracks hell bent on groove and hooks and offering plenty of both.
Continuity from the self-titled isn’t a problem here. While Ancient Warlocks — the returning lineup of guitarist/vocalist Aaron Krause, guitarist Darren Chase, bassist Anthony “Oni” Timm and drummer/engineer Steve Jones — might be said to be stripping down to a degree, pushing toward live analog recording and so on, they’re not so stylistically removed from where they were several years ago. A key difference is in the efficiency of these tracks, “Terrible Touch” launching II with an introductory nod that picks up to rolling fuzz and a bluesy verse from Krause, but they haven’t lost the fluid motion of the first outing as they’ve grown, and that continues to serve them well as the swinging “Charge” picks up from the opener.
The second cut plays more with tempo shifts and features some particularly choice lines from Timm in conversation with the dual guitars, but ultimately makes its impression after the verses and choruses have ended and it works its way toward a noisy finish, crashing and riffing and feeding back as the band might at a show before the quiet start of side A closer “Walk On” brings the proceedings back to ground. They’re more than halfway through the song before Krause delivers the first vocal lines, and the song’s only 3:39, but that exploratory instrumental moment suits Ancient Warlocks, and the riff they shift into as the noodly opening gives way is worthy of highlighting for a few measures. Start-stop chugging backs a shouty verse, and they end on a chorus quickly, again, efficiently, to let “Thunder Punch Elephant Kick” give the start of side B a kick in the ass, running at about as close to full speed as the band come, maybe nodding at some punker roots, but mostly finding a ground just on this side of garage rock as they careen through the tracklisting centerpiece, only 2:26 long.
An evocative title doesn’t hurt, but “The Sun at the Final Rise” also offers II‘s standout hook as Ancient Warlocks ease up on the gas of “Thunder Punch Elephant Kick” and find root in interplay of chug and fuzzy leads, a thickened take on pre-commercial grunge leaving it to the quietly bluesy “Waiting” to blindside the listener. Chase and Krause offer slick guitar interplay as Timm and Jones hang onto the central rhythm, teasing a shift into a chorus before actually kicking into full-tone push just past the two-minute mark, the riff bringing to mind the tube-amp overload of Suplecs‘ first record while also giving Ancient Warlocks an apex for which the instrumental “Benediction” acts as an epilogue, winding in its initial thrust, but soon enough turning to a bouncing groove and driving stonerly nod topped with swirling wah that ends the album on a long fade.
That ending, sort of drawn out, is a little ironic given how short the record ultimately is, but the companion Ancient Warlocks Live!, with its cover referencing Van Halen‘s 1978 self-titled debut, provides brisk reinforcement of the band’s energy and a direct comparison point on the proximity of their studio and live sound. Self-titled cuts “Superwizard,” “Sweet’s too Slow,” “Lion Storm,” “Killer’s Moon” and “White Dwarf” feature alongside “Walk On” and “Terrible Touch,” which round out sides A and B, respectively, as the recordings chronicle performances from 2012, 2014 and 2015. I can’t help but wonder what the future might hold for Ancient Warlocks after II, but whatever comes next, the band has given their debut a worthy follow-up with their second outing, building on the foundation of laid back vibe and songwriting with a catchy and fuzzed-out collection that’s sure to find itself no less welcome over time.
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Tags: Ancient Warlocks, Ancient Warlocks II, II, Seattle, STB Records, Washington
