Lord of Confusion Premiere “Witchfinder” From Evil Mystery
Portuguese cult-leaning doom rockers Lord of Confusion release their debut album, Evil Mystery on Sept. 30 through Gruesome Records and Morbid and Miserable. The four-piece from Leiria is comprised of organist/vocalist Carlota Sousa, guitarist Danilo Sousa, bassist João Fonseca and drummer Nelson Figueiredo, and the album is at home in digging into six mostly lumbering, massive-sounding pieces of elemental doom, with only “Interlúdio” among them offering respite from the ethereal downerism and plod. And that’s basically 90 seconds of manipulated feedback and a gong wash, so yes, the focus throughout the album’s 45 minutes is as consistent as it is weighted, and the ambience that results is like the chain from out of nowhere pulling you underwater, never to return. Abyssal in a genuine way. You’ll note that on the cover art, the organ pipes are bigger than the actual church. Subtle.
And with the haze that seems to be cast over the slow-nod proceedings from the outset of opener “Land of Mystery,” my American ears can’t help but hear some shades of Windhand along with all that atmosphere, but Carlota Sousa‘s vocal declarations, periodic shifts into deathly growling, and organ work complementing and playing off the riffs and genuinely adding to the melodic breadth of the songs as a whole, aren’t to be understated as a factor in the overarching impression. She stands astride “Land of Mystery” with command quickly established, and even as Danilo tears out a solo later on, the keys seem to be steering the course into whatever Evil Mystery they’re about to find. Presumably it’s giant and involves tentacles somehow? I don’t know, but in following up their 2019 Burnin’ Valley EP and offering their first full-length to listeners, Lord of Confusion run counter to their moniker with cohesion, awareness of their purpose as a band, and righteously rotten stretches like that which begins “Howling Void,” where the chug and growls become servants of the darkness being aurally portrayed.
The album perhaps takes its name from two songs — “Land of Mystery” and “Evil Blood” — which open side A and B, respectively, but that creeping sense of something amiss permeates throughout, even as the material itself is tightly executed and produced for maximum largesse. Picking up from “Interlúdio,” “Evil Blood” plays well directly alongside the penultimate “Witchfinder” (premiering below) since the two together emphasize the balance between organ and guitar already shown to be malleable in their songwriting and in which there’s potential for continued growth and the individuality that feels nascent here. Whether it’s Danilo chugging out beneath the echoing growls and horror-vision cast by the midsection of “Evil Blood” or the cinematic grandiosity of organ that persists as “Witchfinder” noises into its second half, Lord of Confusion show flexibility within the scope of what they’re doing — that is, they’re not breaking out the digeridoo (yet), but neither are they trying to write the same song five times, for which one might be grateful — and they will hopefully explore further, deeper reaches as they move forward.
In the meantime, they cap with the 13-minute “Hell” giving all the sense of a destination reached, and abide by layering extreme and melodic vocals (maybe it’s someone else growling and I’ve got it all wrong?) together for a moving affect. The lurch that’s been slow all along is turned particularly grueling, and the foursome revel in it. If you’re wondering when the tempo kick comes, it doesn’t, and hell’s bells I respect that. Sometimes, especially with a newer band, they might give into the temptation to break out, like, “alright you sat through 43 minutes of plodding repeat riffs now we’re gonna thrash for the final two minutes of the album,” but Lord of Confusion do right by Evil Mystery in sticking to the original plan and leaving the novelty ‘big finish’ for another time. That’s not to say they won’t ever play fast, but while we’re looking for omens and portents, their choice to avoid the in-genre cliché at the end of the album bodes remarkably well for future miseries and mysteries to be unfurled.
“Witchfinder” premieres below, followed by info from the PR wire.
Please enjoy:
Lord of Confusion, “Witchfinder” track premiere
Formed in 2018, Lord Of Confusion is a young four-piece group from Portugal that plays a psychedelic-driven doom-metal greatly influenced by classic horror movies and tales of the supernatural and the occult.
In 2019 they self-released their debut EP titled “Burnin’ Valley”, which garnered positive reviews and gave them the opportunity to play all over Portugal, helping the band to reach a wider audience and new fans.
“Evil Mystery”, is the band’s first full length album and it takes Lord Of Confusion into a whole new level of intensity and maturity, thanks to all the experience they got along the way and a lot of hard work put in developing and delivering their new release.
A hell of a lot of blood, sweat, tears and thought has clearly gone into the creation of “Evil Mystery” and that’s pretty evident throughout these six new tracks. With improved songwriting skills and a proper production, the album doesn’t merely rehash that classic doom meets Hammer movies formula, it shows a genuine creepy and chilling atmosphere created by psychedelia-tinged doom riffs, pounding ritualistic beats, and the haunting voice of Carlota Sousa.
Recommended to fans of Pentagram, Sleep, Saint Vitus, Demon Lung, Electric Wizard or Black Widow, “Evil Mystery” is set for release in Europe via Gruesome Records (CD) and in the US via Morbid and Miserable Records (CD and Cassette).
Tracklisting
1. Land of Mystery 8:17
2. Howling Void 8:01
3. Interlúdio 1:38
4. Evil Blood 6:38
5. Witchfinder 7:31
6. Hell 13:16
Lord of Confusion:
Keys and Vocals – Carlota Sousa
Guitars – Danilo Sousa
Bass – João Fonseca
Drums – Nelson Figueiredo
Lord of Confusion on Instagram
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Morbid and Miserable Records store
Tags: Evil Mystery, Gruesome Records, Leiria, Lord of Confusion, Lord of Confusion Evil Mystery, Morbid and Miserable Records, Portugal
[…] Portuguese psych-doom metal occultists Lord of Confusion have just shared a new song off their debut album “Evil Mystery”, which is set for release on September 30th via Gruesome Records in cooperation with Morbid and Miserable Records. Titled “Witchfinder”, this new track is playing at The Obelisk whose editor JJ Koczan had this to say about the album “American ears can’t help but hear some shades of Windhand along with all that atmosphere, but Carlota Sousa‘s vocal declarations, periodic shifts into deathly growling, and organ work complementing and playing off the riffs and genuinely adding to the melodic breadth of the songs as a whole, aren’t to be understated as a factor in the overarching impression.”Listen to “Witchfinder” here. […]
[…] Stream “Witchfinder” via The Obelisk here: https://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2022/09/15/lord-of-confusion-evil-mystery-witchfinder-premiere/ […]