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Witch Charmer Post “Copernicopia” Video

Posted in Bootleg Theater on June 14th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

witch charmer

Maybe it’s my heavy metal roots, but I remain a sucker for some good wordplay. Accordingly, the title of UK five-piece Witch Charmer‘s new track/video immediately caught my eye. Well, maybe not immediately. I had to read it twice, but once it sunk into my lizard brain, I got a legit chuckle out of “Copernicopia” — it’s like a cornucopia of Copernicus! — and the doomers back up that weighty song name with a rolling riff and trades between ethereal themes and burly delivery in the verses and choruses, so all the better. I guess when you decide to call something “Copernicopia” you have to make extra sure it doesn’t suck. Fair enough.

I hope someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe “Copernicopia” is the first new material to come from Witch Charmer since the band’s 2014 full-length debut, The Great Depression (review here), which makes the track all the more of an event. Frontwoman Kate McKeown and drummer Dave McQuilan share vocal duties, first in call and response as the former brings a sensibility to the early going not unlike what Sharie Neyland did for The Wounded Kings during her time with that sadly-defunct outfit, and the latter answering with a gruff dudeliness of the sort found throughout London’s busy heavy rock underground, eventually taking the fore over an uptempo section in the second half.

The video was recorded live, and presumably the same applies to the audio, so I don’t know if Witch Charmer have a new studio release in the works or where they might be in that process, but they’re clearly been putting together songs, so however they might show up, you won’t hear me complain.

Check out “Copernicopia” below, followed by more info/background on the band. Hope you enjoy:

Witch Charmer, “Copernicopia” live Blank Slate Session

Witch Charmer perform ‘Copernicopia’

Camera/Editor: Graeme Baty. Camera: Kenzie Cairns. Sound: David Curle First Ave Studios, Newcastle, Heaton

Witch Charmer are a five piece that play a unique blend of stoner rock, doom, metal & blues to create a rich tapestry to tell stories of darkness and depression about this world gone mad.

Euphoric Curse was the band’s first EP. It was self released on Bandcamp.com as a free or ‘name your price’ Mp3 download, as well as 2 pressings of 100 CDs. It received a great response from the underground stoner rock and doom scene. The response to Euphoric Curse invited a few interested record labels, Witch Charmer decided to work with Italy’s Argonauta Records to release their debut album ‘The Great Depression’ on CD & Mp3 worldwide in September 2014. The Great Depression was also released on Limited Edition cassette by Hevisike Records.

Witch Charmer is:
Kate McKeown – Vocals
Dave McQuillan – Drums & Vocals
Len Lennox – Guitar & Vocals
Adam Clarke – Guitar & Vocals
Richard Maher – Bass

Witch Charmer on Thee Facebooks

Witch Charmer on Bandcamp

Witch Charmer on Twitter

Argonauta Records website

Argonauta Records on Thee Facebooks

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Argonauta Records Releases Devouring the Mountains Vol. II Label Compilation

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 8th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

Argonauta Records went ahead and made you a mixtape. And they put Christopher Lee on the cover, so, you know, right on. Devouring the Mountains Vol. II includes 12 tracks from bands on the Italian imprint’s growing and increasingly diverse roster, including the likes of DenizenKayleth and Witch Charmer. A little all over style-wise — or if not all over, at least some — maybe, but you get a good sense of what’s driving the label’s taste from it and what’s underlying to bring all these bands together in the first place.

Worth noting that the first Devouring the Mountains comp was issued in May 2014, and there are no bands repeated between the two. Not one act appears on the second one who also appeared in the previous. Pretty impressive that Argonauta would not only have that many groups on its roster, but would have enough fresh material from them not to have to double up. Not even once. Wild.

It’s a free download, which is even better. For the digging:

devouring the mountains vol ii

Argonauta Records presents Devouring the Mountains vol.2

Today we celebrate another twelve months spent together, with 12 great bands and awesome albums! This new sampler is our gift to thank you for the continued support: DEVOURING THE MOUNTAINS VOL.2 features tons of heavy riffs from our Stoner, Sludge, Doom, Drone, Post Metal roster. FREE DOWNLOAD, make sure to not miss it! 12 songs also featuring a previously unreleased track by Italian Psych Sludgers NIBIRU, directly from “Padmalotus” recording sessions.

Cover artwork by Argonauta Records, our personal tribute to legendary Christopher Lee in the movie The Wicker Man.

TRACKLIST:
1. BANTORIAK – Entering the Temple 02:19
2. WITCH CHARMER – A Watching of Wolves 06:47
3. DEAF EYES – Black Canvas 04:30
4. TOVARISH – Call of the Kursk 05:40
5. DENIZEN – Whoresmoker 04:59
6. THEE MALDOROR KOLLECTIVE – Mariguanda 08:31
7. KAYLETH – Lies of Mind 04:40
8. [‘selv?] – Persistent 06:46
9. LAST MINUTE TO JAFFNA – Chapter DCCXV 08:08
10. OBESE – Down the Gauntlet 04:18
11. MAGI – A Million Questions 06:28
12. NIBIRU – Carma Geta (previously unreleased) 10:35

More info:
https://argonautarecords.bandcamp.com/album/v-a-devouring-the-mountains-vol-ii
www.facebook.com/argonautarecords
www.argonautarecords.com

VA, Devouring the Mountains Vol. II (2015)

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The Obelisk Radio Adds: Ides of Gemini, Michael Rudolph Cummings, Witch Charmer, Kikagaku Moyo, Spindrift

Posted in Radio on August 15th, 2014 by JJ Koczan

the obelisk radio

It’s a pretty wide stylistic swath with this week’s adds to The Obelisk Radio, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. If you check out the playlists for the last couple days, you’ll see a considerable variety of track picked out — also a lot of Clutch — and that only bolsters the appeal of the stream as far as I’m concerned. Straight-up riffs all the time is cool, I guess, but sometimes a left turn out of nowhere can make your whole day seem richer. Maybe that’s what I’m going for with this week’s picks. Either way, it’s a lot of quality, so your tuning in is appreciated.

The Obelisk Radio Adds for Aug. 15, 2014:

Ides of Gemini, Old World/New Wave

ides of gemini old world new wave

The Sera Timms-fronted three-piece return with Old World/New Wave, their second album on Neurot Recordings with a suitable foll0w-up collection of otherworldly melodies and ethereal instrumental explorations, setting a balance between doomly undulation and minimalist ambience. Also handling bass, Timms (ex-Black Math Horseman) is of course in command of her form vocally, and guitarist J. Bennett and drummer/backing vocalist Kelly Johnston play more than a complementary role, the trio functioning even tighter than on their 2012 debut, Constantinople, hitting on psychedelic mastery with “White Hart” and rolling out a classic riffly chug on the later “Fememorde.” Mood and ambience are never far from being the central focus, but Ides of Gemini let loose a bit on “The Chalice and the Blade,” with Bennett‘s guitar taking forward position in the mix with an echoing lead tone that seems to be in direct conversation with Timms‘ vocals. It’s a dialog worth hearing, and one that makes Old World/New Wave a markedly rich, immersive listening experience, the spaces the three-piece create in their songs seeming inevitably destined for headphone-on isolation, and in that context, flourishing. Ides of Gemini on Thee Facebooks, Neurot Recordings.

Michael Rudolph Cummings, “Long Haul”

A single following the earlier-2014 solo release, Get Low, from Pennsylvania-based Backwoods Payback guitarist/vocalist Michael Rudolph Cummings, the new song “Long Haul” finds Cummings partnered with his Backwoods bandmate Jessica Baker (bass), as well as guitarists Dan Metzker and Pat Shannon and drummer/vocalist Mike Bardzik under the adopted moniker mRc and the Souvenirs. The feel of the track is accordingly full-band, casting off most of the punk influence and heavy tonality that distinguishes Backwoods Payback‘s riff-led take in favor of warmer, classic rock vibing. Cummings‘ voice is suited to the change, and especially following Get Low, “Long Haul” feels like an exploration in progress — new ground being felt out — and I’d argue it’s successful in its push toward creating something distinct from Cummings‘ other solo work and the Backwoods itself. He’s reportedly got an EP coming with The Souvenirs, and as a first taste of what that might sound like, “Long Haul” holds promise of good things to come. Michael Rudolph Cummings on Bandcamp, Backwoods Payback on Twitter.

Kikagaku Moyo, Mammatus Clouds

Improvisational five-piece Kikagaku Moyo are obviously comfortable working in longer forms. The Tokyo outfit’s second offering, Mammatus Clouds, was initially released as limited tape through Sky Lantern Records and has been picked up by Cardinal Fuzz for a deluxe 2LP. No real question why — its three tracks, “Pond” (27:50), “Never Know” (16:50) and “There is No Other Place” (3:19), enact a lush wash of hypnotic, sitar-laced psychedelia. “Pond” is especially satisfying in its exploration, drones and melodies playing out over a consistent rhythmic bed, driving further and further out into ambient breaks and louder payoffs until dropping out to spacious waves of noise, but I won’t discount the appeal of realizing that Kikagaku Moyo are playing off The Beatles‘ “Tomorrow Never Knows” in their own “Never Know” either, taking a recognizable sitar line and burying it deep within their own impulses, truly making an individualized work of it. Likewise, the closer “There is No Other Place” comes as a surprise, an effects-drenched psych rocker quick in its pulse and building to Mammatus Clouds‘ noisy conclusion. The sound here is richer than the average heavy jam, and the effectiveness of the ambience is not to be understated. I haven’t heard the vinyl or the tape, but I have a hard time imagining a format on which this music isn’t absolutely beautiful. Kikagaku Moyo on Thee Facebooks, Cardinal Fuzz webstore, Sky Lantern Records on Bandcamp.

Witch Charmer, The Great Depression

Multi-vocalist UK bruiser doomers Witch Charmer debut on Argonauta Records with The Great Depression, the follow-up first full-length to their 2013 Euphoric Curse EP. Mixed and mastered as that release was by Mos Generator‘s Tony ReedThe Great Depression works well to establish a varied if not necessarily stylistically diverse sound, frontwoman Kate McKeown, guitarists Len Lennox and Adam Clarke and drummer Dave McQuillan all contributing vocals — the band is completed by bassist Richard Maher — over dense and accordingly depressive riffing. I’m not sure which of them does the Kirk Windstein-style growls, but they’re pretty dead on, as “A Watching of Wolves” will attest, and the tradeoffs both keep the record moving and keep a sense of spontaneity to coincide with the rolling riffs and longer arrangements, leading to the extended closer “Stare into the Sun,” which hides a sample-topped acoustic outro. Not sure why they’d feel the need to bury those impulses, but their first outing may be setting the stage for an unfolding creative progression, and cohesive as it is, I’m not going to knock it for solid riffs front to back and a doomed-out feel. Witch Charmer on Thee Facebooks, Argonauta Records.

Spindrift, Exotic Detonation EP

Underrated cowboy psych outfit Spindrift — now featuring guitarist Thomas Bellier of Blaak Heat Shujaa — apparently had some material leftover from last year’s Spindrift: Ghost of the West, and three new songs surface as the Exotic Detonation EP via Tee Pee Records, bringing The Twilight Zone to mind immediately on the opening title-track before launching into the snare-march Morricone-isms in which they so readily trade. That Spindrift would wind up doing soundtrack work — to their own movie, no less — isn’t surprising, since their style is so cinematic, but I guess “Exotic Detonation,” the desert-jammy “Ghosts Go West” and the minimalist finale “High Plains Spindrifter” didn’t fit on the initial release. Issuing them on a complementary EP makes sense, and from the standpoint of the radio stream, it’s three more Spindrift songs that weren’t there before, so fair enough. They continue to reside in a very particular niche that’s very much theirs, and for fans of those who might happen into them live, Exotic Detonation will seem right at home among their other Western thrills. Spindrift on Thee Facebooks, Tee Pee Records.

I could tell you how long this took me to put together, but frankly it’s embarrassing. Still, this is but a portion of the albums added to The Obelisk Radio this afternoon. To see the full list (it includes Pallbearer), check out The Obelisk Radio Updates and Playlist page.

Thanks as always for reading and listening.

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Witch Charmer Sign to Argonauta Records; New Album The Great Depression Due Sept. 1

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 21st, 2014 by JJ Koczan

Today brings the news that UK doom rockers Witch Charmer have inked a deal to issue their first album, The Great Depression, via Italian imprint Argonauta Records. It will be the follow-up to the fivesome’s 2013 debut EP, Euphoric Curse, and is set to feature cover art by guitarist/vocalist Adam Clarke and a mix/mastering job by the omnipresent Tony Reed of Mos Generator, who, for a guy who doesn’t actually live in Britain, certainly finds himself involved in a lot of music coming from that part of the world.

Witch Charmer will head out tour ahead of the release of The Great Depression starting Aug. 16, and the dates can be found in the poster below, which also makes use of the album’s cover art. A rehearsal room demo of the song “Suffer” follows after the announcement of the signing, hoisted from Argonauta‘s page.

Dig it:

New signing: WITCH CHARMER!

After the great feedback received across the board for their debut E.P. “Euphoric Curse“, Sunderland (UK) based Stoner/Doom/Metal outfit WITCH CHARMER follow it up with their first full length record raising the bar on what came before. The band (featuring the talents of Kate McKeown – Vocals, Dave McQuillan – Drums & Vocals, Len Lennox – Guitar & Vocals, Adam Clarke – Guitar & Vocals, Richard Maher – Bass) expands on the sound from their previous release and add a monolithic slab of smoked out doom and groove to take you on a satirical journey to enlightenment.

“The Great Depression” has been mixed and mastered by Tony Reed (Mos Generator, Stone Axe) and will be released by Argonauta Records in September 2014. Just wait for a massive dark, groove-laden, heavy stoner-doom album that fans of Acid King, Purson, Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, Goatsnake & Electric Wizard cannot miss!

https://www.facebook.com/witchcharmerband
http://witchcharmer.bandcamp.com/
http://www.argonautarecords.com/

Witch Charmer, “Suffer” rehearsal demo

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