Dig the slow-motion mathy part at the end of Mountain Wizard Death Cult‘s new single, if you’re feeling daring. The Sydney-based atmosludgers pair impulses from Neurosis and Carcass on “Initiation,” and I’ll be honest, I was already nodding by the time I saw the first band member doing so in the video. And that happens before the 20-second mark is hit, and 10 of those seconds are decided to a bite of caustic feedback. So yeah, pretty much immediately. Not at all shy about being harsh are the four-piece, who’ll issue their debut album sometime before the end of the year through Blighttown Records. I don’t know yet what that record is called — the title of the single would of course be appropriate — but this is heavy, and churning, and mean, and I’m way down with that.

“Initiation” is a somewhat less maniacal and more ambient (there’s a quiet stretch in the middle) than 2021’s “Wretch” (discussed here), but in either case, they’re going for gut-punch-toward-punctured-lung. The only question is how fast they get there.

Crunch, crunch, crush:

Mountain Wizard Death Cult – Sludgy Doom-Metal Merchants Reveal Music Video For New Track “Initiation”

Sydney-based sludgy doom-metal merchants Mountain Wizard Death Cult have recently dropped a music video for a brand new song to be included in their yet-untitled debut album coming later this year via Blighttown Records.

The band comments: “Initiation” feels like a culmination of the journey we’ve been through together as a band… channeling our frustrations, influences and aggression to bring the listener into our World. The record is going to be one hell of a journey and this track is a great example of what’s to come.”

First appearing in early 2019, MWDC quickly built a reputation as one of the most encapsulating and devastating acts in the Sydney metal scene. Their moody anguished debut single ‘Eye Of The Sun’ set the tone, follow up EP ‘ Thrones of Putrid Light’ saw them explore their doomier progressive tendencies whilst 2021’s single ‘Wretch’ revealed MWDC at their most intense and visceral, which appeared on their first split vinyl with Astrodeath entitled ‘The Wretched Invasion’ and received airplay on Triple J’s The Racket.

2022 sees them signing to Blighttown Records for the release of their debut full length, off the back of standout performances at the inaugural Aftermath festival, as well as sold-out double headline hometown shows in Sydney and main support slots for heavyweights such as King Parrot, Potion, Flaming Wrekage & Fangz in 2021, Mountain Wizard Death Cult will deliver a sonically crushing experience like none other and are a band to watch in the years ahead.

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Mountain Wizard Death Cult, “Initiation” official video

Not to be confused with any of the other death cults out there, including Melbourne’s The Black Heart Death Cult, Sydney-based four-piece Mountain Wizard Death Cult offer alternately ferocious and morose death-sludge with their 2020 two-songer, Thrones of Putrid Light, moving in “Thrones” from a subdued mournfulness into extremity of lurch that’s tsunami-immersive in tone and nod alike, even though they’re saving the real malevolence of atmosphere for “Putrid Light,” which is both more angular and harsher on the ear before it finally chills out. You could call it post-metal in some way if you wanted to — the PR wire does and isn’t wrong — but that doesn’t necessarily convey the extremity Mountain Wizard Death Cult harness when going full bore.

The band will release a new single, Wretch, on July 23 and have live dates booked for July and August into September. Beats Cartel was kind enough to send this along:

MOUNTAIN WIZARD DEATH CULT RELEASE & TOUR

Mountain Wizard Death Cult are the hidden diamond of the Sydney heavy scene with an underground buzz set to explode with next month’s visceral release ‘Wretch’, an onslaught of epic proportions.

The Sydney-based 4 piece, categorised as a Doom/Sludge/Post-Metal band, begin their first ever Australian tour this July, chalking up a serve of solid east coast shows on the back of touring minifest Aftermath, a festival appearance at Alice Spring’s Blacken Open Air and Thrashville Festival to manifest the track in various large number live settings.

Band guitarist Chris Chaplin says of the upcoming tour “The Wretched Invasion Tour really is a landmark moment for us as a band, heading out for our first shows away from our home State. I feel our new single ‘Wretch’ really encapsulates the raw purge of energy we experience together with the audience at every show, which is as hypnotic as it is heavy. We’re excited to share this experience with new people around the country and in a strange way timing couldn’t have worked out better.”

Built upon live recording sessions to capture the raw energy and chemistry of the band, Mountain Wizard Death Cult overcame flooding, quarantine and various curveballs to finish Wretch’, a follow up to 2020’s ‘Thrones of Putrid Light’, at Studio Bleus in their hometown of Windsor and are all set to offer up their brand of heavy to new ears, minds and souls.

“Wretch is an exploration of betrayal and the darker half within yourself and the other in a relationship. Acceptance of your own fallen nature and the mirroring of one’s perception onto another to give their own point of view credence. We create the character we want to believe. We cast aside the character we wish to be false. Uplifting and dragging down into reality.”

Having received airplay for their previous releases on Triple J’s The Racket, as well as multiple sold out local headline shows and support slots for heavy hitters King Parrot, Flaming Wrekage, Potion & Astrodeath, the time has come for Mountain Wizard Death Cult to hit their national stride. A must see live act for fans of the darker arts.

Mountain Wizard Death Cult will embark on tour from July through September 2021 in support of new single ‘Wretch’, now available as presale on a split 7″ through Tuff Cuff Records with friends Astrodeath. The Wretch release cycle will also see the release of the band’s debut film clip.

Beats Cartel Presents
MOUNTAIN WIZARD DEATH CULT ‘WRETCH’ 2021 Tour
Fri July 23 Wollongong DICEY RILEYS
Sat July 24 Canberra THE BASEMENT
Fri Jul 30 – Sun Aug 01 Arrente Country BLACKEN OPEN AIR
Sat Aug 07 Sydney FACTORY THEATRE
Fri Aug 13 Sunshine Coast ELEVEN DIVE BAR
Sat Aug 14 Brisbane WOOLLY MAMMOTH
Sun Aug 15 Gold Coast MO’S DESERT CLUBHOUSE
Sat Aug 28 Melbourne BENDIGO HOTEL
Sat Sep 11 Dashville THRASVILLE FESTIVAL

Full tour info and tickets at beatscartel.com/aftermath

‘Wretch’ single released across all streaming platforms Fri 23 July

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Mountain Wizard Death Cult, Thrones of Putrid Light (2020)

Mountain Wizard Death Cult, “Eye of the Sun” live at Housefox Studios