[TO ENTER GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment on this post with your email address in the form. You’ll be contacted at that address if you win.]

My pleasure today to partner up with Salt of the Earth Records for a nine-album prize pack giveaway that includes releases from Cortez, Scissorfight, Buzzard Canyon, Ol’ Time Moonshine, When the Deadbolt Breaks, Atala, Oxblood Forge and Shadow Witch.

The occasion is the June 16 release of Cortez‘s new album, The Depths Below, and to mark it, the label is giving away CD copies of its entire catalog and then some out of its online distro, plus buttons and stickers and presumably any other whatnot they might have laying around the office. You never know with this kind of thing. “Here’s a stapler just for the hell of it!,” and so on.

Please note: I don’t think you’ll actually get a stapler. You will get plenty of killer releases though, which Salt of the Earth details below. Leave a comment on this post to enter. Winner is chosen one week from today, on June 8. Good luck to all:

To celebrate the much anticipated release of CORTEZ “The Depths Below”, we would like to hook a lucky The Obelisk reader up with a killer collection of heavy ass tunes!

The whole damn complete SALT OF THE EARTH RECORDS catalog!!!

CORTEZ – “The Depths Below” (not pictured, but you still get it!)
SCISSORFIGHT – “Chaos County”
BUZZARD CANYON – “Hellfire & Whiskey”
OL’ TIME MOONSHINE -“The Apocalypse Trilogies”
WHEN THE DEADBOLT BREAKS – “Until It All Collides”

Plus from the gems from the SALT OF THE EARTH RECORDS distro vaults…

CORTEZ – “Thunder In A Forgotten Town”
ATALA -“S/T”
OXBLOOD FORGE – “S/T”
SHADOW WITCH – “Sun Killer”

And of course we will also throw in some badass Stickers and Buttons too!

Don’t forget to sign up for our email list @ www.SaltOfTheEarthRecords.com

Remember: The Obelisk does not keep, sell or otherwise use any personal info submitted. Email addresses are gathered simply so the winner can be notified. The end. Thanks.

[TO ENTER GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment on this post with your email address in the form. You’ll be contacted at that address if you win.]

Cortez, “Walk Through Fire”

Cortez on Thee Facebooks

Salt of the Earth Records website

Salt of the Earth Records on Thee Facebooks

Riding out a winding groove somewhere between classic metal and speedy heavy rock, New York’s Shadow Witch have a new video taken from their 2016 debut album, Sun Killer. The record, issued through NoSlip Records and the now-defunct Snake Charmer Coalition, was a stomper, and “Blitzkrieg” — the video for which yes, features a bunch of footage of bombs exploding in black and white, presumably from World War II — follows suit. Only question is the timing. Not that one might begrudge Shadow Witch posting a clip whenever, but at the same time, they’ve also newly unveiled the David Paul Seymour cover art for their next outing, to be titled Disciples of the Crow. It looks like this:

The vibe I get from perusing their social media is Shadow Witch still have to put their new songs to tape — last update I saw from them was they were rehearsing and demoing, which would indicate not being as far in the process as, say, recording, mixing or mastering — so it may be a while before Disciples of the Crow makes its way to public ears, but I guess it’s good to see that even as they wind down one album they’ve already got their feet dug into the next one. Maybe “Blitzkrieg” is their way of saying farewell to Sun Killer, or maybe someone just got bored and had editing software sitting around. I won’t pretend to know.

Whatever the case, neither will I complain at the refresher on what Shadow Witch were getting up to with the record. Presumably Disciples of the Crow will be out before the end of 2017 — a Fall release doesn’t seem unreasonable if they hit the studio sometime before May; otherwise it might be next year — but when and if I hear more, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, the four-piece have been playing locally, and they’ll be in their native Kingston, NY, on March 31 with It’s Not Night: It’s Space, Ecstatic Vision and Shitkill. More info on that follows the video, which you’ll see below.

Please enjoy:

Shadow Witch, “Blitzkrieg” official video

Video for Shadow Witch’s song “Blitzkrieg” from the album Sun Killer (Snake Charmer Coalition, 2016). Download the album at: http://shadowwitch.bandcamp.com.

Busy rehearsing and demoing new material for our upcoming album. Looking forward to playing 3/31 at The Anchor with Ecstatic Vision, INN:IS and Shitkill!

SHADOW WITCH “Sun Killer” is now Available @ www.SaltOfTheEarthRecords.com

Shadow Witch:
Earl Lundy: Lead Vocals, Mellotron, Loops
Anton Van Kleek: drums
Jeremy Hall: Guitars
David Pannullo: Bass, vocals

Shadow Witch on Thee Facebooks

Shadow Witch on Bandcamp

Shadow Witch at Snake Charmer Coalition

Shadow Witch at Salt of the Earth Records

Kingston, New York, four-piece Shadow Witch have inked a deal to release their debut album, Sun Killer, via Snake Charmer Coalition. The record has been given a Summer 2016 release date from the label, which is run by Brendan Burns of Wasted Theory (also The Eye of the Stoned Goat festival series), and there are currently three tracks streaming from it that you can hear below if you’re so inclined. Sound-wise, Shadow Witch dig into dudely heavy with a side-order of hey-check-it-out-it’s-tits objectification in the artwork and the like-you-better-without-clothes lyrics to the aptly-titled “Creeper.”

Riffs fuzz out a bit there as opposed to “The Shadow Witch,” which has a more cultish swirl in the guitar and vocals, if still showing an underlying sense of command rather than delving into chaos. “Occupy” would seem to answer “The Shadow Witch” in its NWOBHM chug, and while the band have earned comparisons to the ’70s and ’90s, there’s little retro about what they do either in tapping into proto-metal or grunge, which is what both those decade callouts would usually signify. Modern in their production and songwriting approach, Shadow Witch cap “Occupy” with militaristic call and response having shown a breadth of atmosphere that comes through even in rough mix form.

Snake Charmer Coalition announced the signing thusly:

SHADOW WITCH signs with Snake Charmer Coalition

Their debut full-length album “The Sun Killer” will be released this summer on Snake Charmer Coalition.

Snake Charmer Coalition is proud to announce its partnertship with Kingston, New York’s very own Shadow Witch. Shadow Witch delivers a fresh idea on teh stoner rock genre, and yet calls to mind influences of ’70s doom and ’90s grunge. “The Sun Killer” is their first full-length offering for the label.

Shadow Witch:
Earl Lundy: Lead Vocals, Mellotron, Loops
Anton Van Kleek: drums
Jeremy Hall: Guitars
David Pannullo: Bass, vocals

ShadowWitch.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/ShadowWitch.band
www.SnakeCharmerCoalition.com

Shadow Witch, Rough Mixes from Sun Killer (2016)