Posted in Whathaveyou on October 16th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
An all-dayer set for Saturday, Dec. 16, at El Corazon and Funhouse in Seattle, Washington, Rain City Doom Fest was announced late last week by the bands. There are eight of those, which is probably plenty, considering you’ve got Matt Pike bringing his Pike vs. the Automaton solo band through with direct support from Witch Ripper and Mos Generator. Un, Sorcia, Sun Crow, Grim Earth and Mother Root round out, and if you know all of those bands or you don’t — Sorcia in July put out a record called Lost Season (review here); Witch Ripper gleaned fervent hyperbole around their The Flight After the Fall (review here) this Spring; Sun Crow are working toward their next LP; the list goes on — but if I’ve earned any trust in the last 14 years, I hope maybe you’ll take my word for it when I say it’s a solid lineup between established and newer acts, and that I hope it continues to be a regular thing.
Because a homegrown heavy fest isn’t anything to sneeze at and it’s not easy to put together, learning many invariably crucial lessons the only way they can be learned: by doing the thing. I didn’t know it when I first posted the lineup, but Jessica Brasch of Sorcia books this one and it’s been going for three years. This is the first time it will be at two venues — I think — and it remains a killer bill.
Have at it:
El Corazon & The Funhouse present:
RAIN CITY DOOM FEST 2023
2 stages, 8 bands. Showcasing some of the heaviest music in the PNW and beyond.
Pike Vs The Automaton Witch Ripper Mos Generator Un Sorcia Sun Crow Grim Earth Mother Root
Posted in Reviews on April 10th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Welcome to the Spring 2023 Quarterly Review. Between today and next Tuesday, a total of 70 records will be covered with a follow-up week slated for May bringing that to 120. Rest assured, it’ll be plenty. If you’re reading this, I feel safe assuming you know the deal: 10 albums per day from front to back, ranging in style, geography, type of release — album, EP, singles even, etc. — and the level of hype and profile surrounding. The Quarterly Review is always a massive undertaking, but I’ve never done one and regretted it later, and looking at what’s coming up across the next seven days, there are more than few records featured that are already on my ongoing best of 2023 list. So please, keep an eye and ear out, and hopefully you’ll also find something new that speaks to you.
We begin.
Quarterly Review #1-10:
ISAAK, Hey
Last heard from as regards LPs with 2015’s Serominize (review here) and marking 10 years since their 2013 debut under the name, The Longer the Beard the Harder the Sound (review here), Genoa-based heavy rockers ISAAK return with the simply-titled Hey and encapsulate the heads-up fuzz energy that’s always been at the core of their approach. Vocalist Giacomo H. Boeddu has hints of Danzig in “OBG” and the swing-shoving “Sleepwalker” later on, but whether it’s the centerpiece Wipers cover “Over the Edge,” the rolling “Dormhouse” that follows, or the melodic highlight “Rotten” that precedes, the entire band feel cohesive and mature in their purposeful songwriting. They’re labelmates and sonic kin to Texas’ Duel, but less bombastic, with a knife infomercial opening their awaited third record before the title-track and “OBG” begin to build the momentum that carries the band through their varied material, spacious on “Except,” consuming in the apex of “Fake it Till You Make It,” but engaging throughout in groove and structure.
With doom in their collective heart and riffs to spare, UK doom metal traditionalists Iron Void roll out a weighted 44 minutes across the nine songs of their fourth full-length, IV, seeming to rail against pandemic-era restrictions in “Grave Dance” and tech culture in “Slave One” while “Pandora’s Box” rocks out Sabbathian amid the sundry anxieties of our age. Iron Void have been around for 25 years as of 2023 — like a British Orodruin or trad-doom more generally, they’ve been undervalued for most of that time — and their songwriting earns the judgmental crankiness of its perspective, but each half of the LP gets a rousing closer in “Blind Dead” and “Last Rites,” and Iron Void doom out like there’s no tomorrow even on the airier “She” because, as we’ve seen in the varying apocalypses since the band put out 2018’s Excalibur (review here), there might not be. So much the better to dive into the hook of “Living on the Earth” or the grittier “Lords of the Wasteland,” the metal-of-yore sensibility tapping into early NWOBHM without going full-Maiden. Kind of a mixed bag, it might take a few listens to sink in, but IV shows the enduring strengths of Iron Void and is clearly meant more for those repeat visits than some kind of cloying immediacy. An album to be lived with and doomed with.
An offering of thickened, massive lava-flow sludge, plodding doom and atmospheric severity, Dread Witch‘s self-released (not for long, one suspects) first long-player, Tower of the Severed Serpent, announces a significant arrival on the part of the onslaught-prone Danish outfit, who recorded as a trio, play live as a five-piece and likely need at least that many people to convey the density of a song like the opener/longest track (immediate points) “The Tower,” the eight minutes of which are emblematic of the force of execution with which the band delivers the rest of what follows, runtimes situated longest to shortest across the near-caustic chug of “Serpent God,” the Celtic Frost-y declarations and mega-riff ethos of “Leech,” the play between key-led minimalism and all-out stomp on “Wormtongue” and the earlier-feeling noise intensity of “Into the Crypt” before the more purely ambient but still heavy instrumental “Severed” wraps, conveying weight of emotion to complement the tonal tectonics prior. Bordering on the extreme and clearly enjoying the crush that doing so affords them, Dread Witch make more of a crater than an impression and would be outright barbaric were their sound not so methodical in immersing the audience. Pro sound, loaded with potential, heavy as shit; these are the makings of a welcome debut.
Next-generation heavy fuzz purveyed with particular glee, Tidal Wave seem to explore the very reaches they conjure through verses and choruses on their eight-song Ripple Music label debut (second LP overall behind 2019’s Blueberry Muffin), The Lord Knows, and they make the going fun throughout the 41-minute outing, finding the shuffle in the shove of “Robbero Bobbero” while honing classic desert idolatry on “Lizard King” and “End of the Line” at the outset. What a relief it is to know that heavy rock and roll won’t die with the aging-out of so many of its Gen-X and Millennial purveyors, and as Tidal Wave step forward with the low-end semi-metal roll of “Pentagram” and the grander spaces of “By Order of the King” before “Purple Bird” returns to the sands and “Thorsakir” meets that on an open field of battle, it seems the last word has not been said on Tidal Wave in terms of aesthetic. They’ve got time to continue to push deeper into their craft — and maybe that will or won’t result in their settling on one path or another — but the range of moods on The Lord Knows suits them well, and without pretense or overblown ceremony the Sundsvall four-piece bring together elements of classic heavy rock and metal while claiming a persona that can move back and forth between them. Kind of the ideal for a younger band.
Persistently weird in the mold of Arthur Brown with unpredictability as a defining feature, Guided Meditation Doomjazz may mostly be a cathartic salve for founding bassist, vocalist, experimentalist, etc.-ist Blaise the Seeker, but that hardly makes the expression any less valid. Expect arrives as a five-song EP, ready to meander in the take-the-moniker-literally “Collapse in Dignity” and the fuzz-drenched slow-plod finisher “Sit in Surrender” — watery psychedelic guitar weaving overhead like a cloud you can reshape with your mind — that devolves into drone and noise, but not unstructured and not without intention behind even its most out-there moments. The bluesy sway of “The Mind is Divided” follows the howling scene-setting of the titular opener, while “Stream of Crystal Water” narrates its verse over crunchier riffing before the sung chorus-of-sorts, the overarching dug-in sensibility conveying some essence of what seems despite a prolific spate of releases to be an experience intended for a live setting, with all the one-on-one mind-expansion and arthouse performance that inevitably coincides with it. Still, with a rough-feeling production, Expect carries a breadth that makes communing with it that much easier. Go on, dare to get lost for a little while. See where you end up.
II is the vocalized follow-up to Cancervo‘s 2021 debut, 1 (review here), and finds the formerly-instrumental Lombardy, Italy, three-piece delving further into the doomed aspects of the initial offering with a greater clarity on “Arera,” “Herdsman of Grem” and “The Cult of Armentarga,” letting some of the psychedelia of the first record go while maintaining enough of an atmosphere to be hypnotic as the vocals follow the marching rhythm as the latter track moves into its midsection or the rhythmic chains in the subsequent “Devil’s Coffin” (an instrumental) lock step with the snare in a floating, loosely-Eastern-scaled break before the bigger-sounding end. Between “Devil’s Coffin” and the feedback-prone also-instrumental “Zambla” ahead of 8:43 closer “Zambel’s Goat” — on which the vocals return in a first-half of subdued guitar-led doomjamming prior to the burst moment at 4:49 — II goes deeper as it plays through and is made whole by its meditative feel, some semblance of head-trip cult doom running alongside, but if it’s a cult it’s one with its own mythology. Not where one expected them to go after 1, but that’s what makes it exciting, and that they lay claim to arrangement flourish, chanting vocals and slogging tempos as they do bodes well for future exploration.
So heavy it crashed my laptop. Twice. The second full-length from Mumbai post-metallers Dirge is a self-titled four-songer that culls psychedelia from tonal tectonics, not contrasting the two but finding depth in the ways they can interact. Mixed by Sanford Parker, the longer-form pieces comprise a single entirety without seeming to have been written as one long track, the harsh vocals of Tabish Khidir adding urgency to the guitar work of Ashish Dharkar and Varun Patil (the latter also backing vocals) as bassist Harshad Bhagwat and drummer Aryaman Chatterji underscore and punctuate the chugging procession of opener “Condemned” that’s offset if not countermanded by its quieter stretch. If you’re looking for your “Stones From the Sky”-moment as regards riffing, it’s in the 12-minute second cut, “Malignant,” the bleak triumph of which spills over in scream-topped angularity into “Grief” (despite a stop) while the latter feels all the more massive for its comedown moments. In another context, closer “Hollow” might be funeral doom, but it’s gorgeous either way, and it fits with the other three tracks in terms of its interior claustrophobia and thoughtful aggression. They’re largely playing toward genre tenets, but Dirge‘s gravity in doing so is undeniable, and the space they create is likewise dark and inviting, if not for my own tech.
Witch Ripper‘s sophomore LP and Magnetic Eye label-debut, The Flight After the Fall, touches on anthemic prog rock and metal with heavy-toned flourish and plenty of righteous burl in cuts like “Madness and Ritual Solitude” and the early verses of “The Obsidian Forge,” though the can-sing vocals of guitarists Chad Fox and Curtis Parker and bassist Brian Kim — drummer Joe Eck doesn’t get a mic but has plenty to do anyhow — are able to push that centerpiece and the rest of what surrounds over into the epic at a measure’s notice. Or not, which only makes Witch Ripper more dynamic en route to the 16:45 sprawling finish of “Everlasting in Retrograde Parts 1 and 2,” picking up from the lyrics of the leadoff “Enter the Loop” to put emphasis on the considered nature of the release as a whole, which is a showcase of ambition in songwriting as much as performance of said songs, conceptual reach and moments of sheer pummel. It’s been well hyped, and by the time “Icarus Equation” soars into its last chorus without its wings melting, it’s easy to hear why in the fullness of its progressive heft and melodic theatricality. It’s not a minor undertaking at 47 minutes, but it wouldn’t be a minor undertaking if it was half that, given the vastness of Witch Ripper‘s sound. Be ready to travel with it.
In stated narrative conversation with the Arabic influence on Spanish and greater Western European (read: white) culture, specifically in this case as regards the work of Persian philosopher Ibn Sina, Parisian self-releasing three-piece Pelegrin follow-up 2019’s Al-Mahruqa (review here) with the expansive six songs of Ways of Avicenna, with guitarist/vocalist François Roze de Gracia, bassist/backing vocalist Jason Recoing and drummer/percussionist Antoine Ebel working decisively to create a feeling of space not so much in terms of the actual band in the room, but of an ancient night sky on songs like “Madrassa” and the rolling heavy prog solo drama of the later “Mystical Appear,” shades of doom and psychedelia pervasive around the central riff-led constructions, the folkish middles of “Thunderstorm” and “Reach for the Sun” and the acoustic two-minute “Disgrace” a preface to the patient manner in which the trio feel their way into the final build of closer “Forsaken Land.” I’m neither a historical scholar nor a philosopher, and thankfully the album doesn’t require you to be, but Pelegrin could so easily tip over into the kind of cartoonish cultural appropriation that one finds among certain other sects of European psychedelia, and they simply don’t. Whether the music speaks to you or not, appreciate that.
Lush but not overblown, Argentinian instrumentalists Black Sky Giant fluidly and gorgeously bring together psychedelia and post-rock on their third album, Primigenian, distinguishing their six-song/31-minute brevity with an overarching progressive style that brings an evocative feel whether it’s to the guitar solos in “At the Gates” or the subsequent kick propulsion of “Stardust” — which does seem to have singing, though one can barely make out what if anything is actually being said — as from the denser tonality of the opening title-track, they go on to unfurl the spiritual-uplift of “The Great Hall,” fading into a cosmic boogie on the relatively brief “Sonic Thoughts” as they, like so many, would seem to have encountered SLIFT‘s Ummon sometime in the last two years. Doesn’t matter; it’s just a piece of the puzzle here and the shortest track, sitting as it does on the precipice of capper “The Foundational Found Tapes,” which plays out like amalgamated parts of what might’ve been other works, intermittently drummed and universally ambient, as though to point out the inherently incomplete nature of human-written histories. They fade out that last piece after seeming to put said tapes into a player of some sort (vague samples surrounding) and ending with an especially dream-toned movement. I wouldn’t dare speculate what it all means, but I think we might be the ancient progenitors in question. Fair enough. If this is what’s found by whatever species is next dominant on this planet — I hope they do better at it than humans have — we could do far worse for representation.
All of the music included in today’s episode of The Obelisk Show is new unless otherwise noted. There was some fresh-out stuff I knew I wanted to put in — REZN, Black Helium, Child, Edena Gardens, Santo Rostro, etc. — and then I kind of started digging back a little, and with the space of a year between went back to dig a few tracks out of 2021, the Thermic Boogie song from 2020, and so on, all with the semi-conscious aim of exploring the idea of what it means when one thinks of a band being ‘dug in.’
In the voice tracks, clever soul that I am, I call it “digging in to being dug in.” It’s not a special episode, really — apart from the odd deep-dive or memorial, getting to play new music someone might not’ve heard on a platform like Gimme Metal is pretty special already, as far as I’m concerned — but kind of an underlying semi-theme. At very least, something that was in my head when I put the playlist together.
So with the back and forth of new and old(er) material and longer songs generally, it’s a different episode for sure than the last one, but I wanted to see how this went and how it felt really picking tracks that unfold in their own way, letting them do that. I don’t know if it’ll work or not — if the chat is dead and nobody’s listening, I’ll have my answer — but it’s a little bit of an experiment on my end and I’m grateful for the opportunity to conduct it.
Thanks if you listen. Thanks for reading. Thanks in general. Your support is appreciated. I’m a real human being and it means something to me, genuinely.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 03.17.23 (VT = voice track)
E-L-R
Forêt
Vexier (2022)
Santo Rostro
Matriz
Después no habrá nada
REZN
Reversal
Solace
VT
Thermic Boogie
A Herdhead
Sheer Madness (2020)
Child
Coming Up Trumps
Soul Murder
The Buzzards of Fuzz
Mostly Harmless
The Buzzards of Fuzz (2021)
Edena Gardens
Veil
Agar
Genghis Tron
Dream Weapon
Dream Weapon (2021)
Sermon
Golden
Of Golden Verse
Black Helium
Another Heaven
Um
VT
Witch Ripper
Everlasting in Retrograde Pts. 1 & 2
The Flight After the Fall
King Buffalo
Firmament
Regenerator (2022)
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is March 31 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 8th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Still not sure what witches ever did to these dudes, but Seattle Witch Ripper are set to debut on Magnetic Eye Records on March 3 with their second full-length, The Flight After the Fall, and accompanying that announcement is a shenanigans-fueled video for “Enter the Loop,” which leads off the record. By the end of it, you’ll likely agree the laser lightshow is well earned.
The LP is only five songs long, so I would expect maybe “Enter the Loop” at seven minutes to be pretty representative of where they’re coming from in that regard, but you can hear the metallic underpinning the PR wire talks about below, as well as all that proggy heavy rock flourish and groove that, you know, makes it fun. I dug their 2019 split with Brume (review here) — interesting that both bands have added a fourth member since — and though I’m kind of on the fence, I’m gonna give the record a shot when the time comes and see how it goes. Magnetic Eye‘s usually pretty on the ball. Worst that happens is I go ‘nah’ and leave it at that. Best that happens is lasers, figuratively speaking.
From the PR wire:
WITCH RIPPER release first video single ‘Enter the Loop’ taken from forthcoming new album “The Flight after the Fall”
WITCH RIPPER have released the tongue-in-cheek video clip ‘Enter the Loop’ as the catchy first single taken from the forthcoming album “The Flight after the Fall”. The sophomore full-length of the American melodic sludge metal outfit is slated to hit stores on March 3, 2022.
WITCH RIPPER comment: “We wanted to start off our new album with a musical bang, and ‘Enter the Loop’ is clearly making a statement about this band”, guitarist and vocalist Curtis Parker writes. “Yes, we can play heavy riffs with pummeling drums, we all know that. Yet with the addition of Chad on guitar and co-vocals, we’re now able to execute big dramatic musical passages inspired by bands that we love like Queen and David Bowie. ‘Enter the Loop’ represents a launching-off point for us both in lyrical and musical terms. It lets people know that they’re in for something special, and that this musical journey is just beginning.”
Tracklist 1. Enter the Loop 2. Madness and Ritual Solitude 3. The Obsidian Forge 4. Icarus Equation 5 .Everlasting in Retrograde Pt. I & II
Born and raised in the city of grey skies and loud music, Seattle in 2012, Washington’s WITCH RIPPER have seamlessly welded together the contemporary heaviness of such hard-hitting acts as MASTODON, GOJIRA, and BARONESS with the anthemic quality of classic rock artists.
WITCH RIPPER have created a loving pastiche of the legendary pulp science fiction stories of old. The story told on their sophomore full-length “The Flight after the Fall” has all those tasty ingredients: a mad professor, his dying wife, cryogenic chambers, a black hole as well as themes of love, failure, loss, and acceptance.
Release date: March 3, 2023
Engineered by Derek Moree Drums Aux at The Unknown, Anacortes, WA, USA Guitar, bass, Vocal recording at The Boiler Room, Seattle, WA, USA Mixed at Diamond Drives Studio, Black Diamond, WA, USA
Artwork and Layout by Chris Panatier
Line-up Chad Fox – guitar, vocals Brian Kim – bass, vocals Curtis Parker – guitar, vocals Joe Eck – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 21st, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Check out Magnetic Eye Records, not-quite-quietly building a roster united by quality more than sound. Seattle’s Witch Ripper are the latest to join the fold, unless I’ve missed an email in the last 10 minutes, and they would seem to have a second full-length ready to go. I don’t see a release date, but if I’m reading it all correctly and I’m not sure that I am, gotta figure that’ll happen sooner or later.
Last I heard from the band was 2019’s split with Brume (review here), and their prior full-length debut, 2018’s Homecoming, was issued via DHU Records. They toured for that release and given the level the backing of Magnetic Eye puts them at, it seems entirely likely that more road time is in the works.
The signing announcement, courtesy of the PR wire:
WITCH RIPPER sign with Magnetic Eye Records
WITCH RIPPER have inked a multi-album deal with Magnetic Eye Records. The forward-thinking US sludge metal outfit will release their forthcoming third full-length via the label.
WITCH RIPPER comment: “We are truly excited about signing a multi-album deal with Magnetic Eye”, guitarist and vocalist Curtis Parker writes. “As a band we want to push the heavy genre beyond the normal doom sludge songwriting tropes. Right away Magnetic Eye picked up on that. They have embraced our ideas and have been supportive of what we are trying to accomplish straight from the first phone call, and we can hardly wait to continue to grow as a band working with Magnetic Eye’s guidance. We feel like we have finally found a home, so hold onto your butts, because we are just getting started.”
Jadd Shickler adds: “We are stoked to welcome Witch Ripper to the Magnetic Eye family”, the Magnetic Eye director enthuses. “From the anthemic, vintage-tinged rock ‘n roll of Ruby the Hatchet via the brutality of Horsehunter to the angular riff-prog of Caustic Casanova, the sonic connections across the Magnetic Eye roster might not be obvious, but there is a common thread: engaging and dynamic heaviness. That can take lots of forms, and that is why signing Witch Ripper makes perfect sense and happened with zero hesitation. This is a band on the frontiers of modern metal, dipping into the galloping sludge of bands like Mastodon and Baroness while channeling the epic stadium rock of Queen into the ultimate hybrid of infectious riff-metal. We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome this foursome from the Emerald City, and can hardly wait to bring their new album to the masses!”
Born and raised in the city of grey skies and loud music, Seattle, Washington’s WITCH RIPPER are a sludge metal band that seamlessly welds together the contemporary heaviness of such hard-hitting acts as MASTODON, GOJIRA, and BARONESS with the anthemic bombast of classic artists in the vein of QUEEN and DAVID BOWIE.
With a self-titled EP and the debut full-length “Homestead” both previously released to critical acclaim, WITCH RIPPER continued to push their sound forward with the ambitious next album “The Flight after the Fall”. Infectious and challenging, this record harnesses the band’s sludgy roots while showcasing their broadened sonic spectrum with soaring melodies and prog-driven tempo shifts.
WITCH RIPPER have performed alongside heavy rock outfits such as MONOLORD, CONAN, and RUBY THE HATCHET as well as modern metal acts including SLIPKNOT, GOJIRA, and KHEMMIS among many others. These Americans follow the motto: big riffs, bigger hooks, and damn, that drummer!
Currently, WITCH RIPPER are preparing to hammer their second full-length into as many new ears as possible via Magnetic Eye.
Live 22-24 JUL 2022 Tacoma, WA (US) KVLT Fest II
Line-up Chad Fox – guitar, vocals Brian Kim – bass, vocals Curtis Parker – guitar, vocals Joe Eck – drums
So, first things first: Witch Ripper and Brume release their Split MMXIX this Friday, March 15, through DHU Records. Second, with Witch Ripper working with Matt Bayles and Brume working with Billy Frickin’ Anderson on production, it should come as no surprise that the thing sounds awesome. From the opening High on Fire-through-a-meat-grinder churn of the early going in Witch Ripper‘s 13-minute-long “1985” and the melancholy creep that follows before they build back up to the last apex, to the fallout symptoms at the end of “Man-Made” (you’ll see it in the video) to the timeless and familiar strains of “In the Pines” as rendered through Brume‘s melodic lurch and longing, Split MMXIX is of course more than the sum of those behind the board, behemoths of the monolithic — or was that monoliths of the behemoth? — as they are, it’s also the result of two bands working each on their own level to affect that consuming sonic largesse. “1985” was recorded when Witch Ripper tracked their 2018 debut, Homestead, while Brume‘s “Man-Made” and “In the Pines” are older and newer recordings, respectively, brought to bear with the sense of lumber one has come to expect from the San Francisco three-piece.
With its extended runtime, the opener consumes the entirety of side A of the vinyl and puts it to good use. Tones are weighted and the initial plod is given duly guttural vocal accompaniment for about the first half of the track, and as it hits the midpoint, “1985” breaks to a stretch of quiet, classically metallic guitar, dramatic and atmospheric and a stark turn from the grit preceding, but not entirely out of place — or at least not anymore than it’s intended to be. Clean-sung lines top as the bass and drums casually work their way back in and Witch Ripper push forward on a subtle build for the next couple minutes, a tolling bell seeming to signal the shift into the grander instrumental solo section that pays off the track in epic metal fashion. The band note below that “1985” was taken off the album because it was too long, and listening to it, one tends to believe them. It is long, but that only seems to make it all the more worthy of the showcase it has here alongside the work of Brume, who follow their 2017 debut, Rooster (review here), with these two tracks showcasing their evolving personality.
“Man-Made” — the video below directed by the band’s own Jordan Perkins-Lewis — seems to rumble out its start in answer to “1985” back on the A side, but obviously that’s just coincidence of tone; it’s an older song recorded before the band knew it would be on this split. The impact of its riffing is well met by the nuclear test footage sped up to match the rhythm of the strumming guitar, and over the eight minutes, “Man-Made” evolves into a maddened beast before, like “1985” before it, dropping to mellow but tense guitar. The difference is “Man-Made” resumes its previous heading and caps with its central riff in the forward position and feedback leading the way via fadeout into “In the Pines,” written by Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter and given generational breadth through a particularly tortured performance by Nirvana on MTV Unplugged. Brume make it sound massive, thereby demonstrating not only the malleability of the song itself, but their own reach as they move beyond their debut into this release and whatever might come after.
Below, you’ll find all three tracks on Split MMXIX presented across three different YouTube clips. Not how these kinds of things usually work, but go with it. Witch Ripper have a creepy spider to go with “1985,” while Brume have a static image for “In the Pines” and the aforementioned bomb-dropper clip for “Man-Made.” One way or the other, it all makes sense atmospherically with the release itself, which is unapologetic in its heft and worthy of whatever volume you can give it.
Comment from the bands and more follows the videos.
Please enjoy:
Witch Ripper, “1985”
Brume, “Man-Made” official video premiere
Brume, “In the Pines”
Witch Ripper on “1985”:
Recorded during the “Homestead” sessions by Matt Bayles (Isis, Mastodon, Minus the Bear) it was cut from the full length because frankly, it was too damn long to fit on the vinyl. Luckily we found a home for the song as our side of a killer split with San Francisco doom weirdos Brume. The song “1985” is one of our most ambitions creations yet. At 13 minutes strong the song moves from grunge inspired doom riffs to a psychedelic clean bridge and huge musical soaring outro. It’s got a lot. Lyrically it’s about knowing that you love music, not knowing how long you can do it for but not wanting to give up that dream. Something that I think we can all relate too.
Brume on “Man-Made” & “In the Pines”:
Brume’s two tracks on the split are a celebration of the SF Trio’s second home, the Pacific Northwest and bring to light recordings old and new. “Man-Made” is the first track the band worked with producer Billy Anderson (Neurosis/Sleep) and was recorded in Portland while on their first West Coast tour in 2015. “In the pines” is the most recent track recorded with Billy (also in Portland), some three years after. The cover was pulled together for a show in Seattle, paying homage to both Nirvana and Leadbelly. What better way to release these tracks than with label mates Witch Ripper from Seattle?
Brume/Witch Ripper Split MMXIX
Side Witch Ripper A1. 1985
Side Brume B1. Man-made B2. In the Pines
Pre orders go live Friday January 25th at 7PM CET
Official release date March 15th
The Brume/Witch Ripper Split will be released on 3 different limited edition color vinyl options
DHU Exclusive: Limited to 90 copies Witch Ripper Edition: Limited to 100 copies Brume Edition: Limited to 100 copies
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 15th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Nobody here loses. Two bands and a label team up, everybody gets circa-100 copies to sell, and everyone helps each other promote it. What Brume, Witch Ripper and DHU Records have going with the Split MMXIX is basically the idea behind doing a split in the first place. Two bands are showcased with the promotional help from an imprint and everybody gets to put out something new. The fact that Seattle four-piece Witch Ripper take up their whole side with their “1985” opus is a bonus, as is Brume‘s side B take on “In the Pines,” the Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter track known to an entire generation as “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” as covered by Nirvana once upon a time on MTV Unplugged. Hard to argue with the pick, frankly.
The release is out March 15 and the preorders start Jan. 25. I wouldn’t be surprised if the pressing sold out on preorders alone, but whether or not the thing actually makes it to its release date, everyone still wins.
From the PR wire:
Brume/Witch Ripper Split MMXIX (DHU023) Pre order + release date
San Francisco’s Doom Trio Brume have teamed up with Seattle’s Stoner Metal misfits Witch Ripper to bring you a split of unforgiving heaviness to ring in the New Year of Heavy MMXIX
Witch Ripper open the gates on Side A with a mind melting 13+ min track called “1985”. A track that was recorded during their magnificent debut “Homestead” recording session released last year, so you know you will be swept up once again in their punishing assault!
On Side B Brume grace us with a song recorded between the debut “Donkey” and follow up full length “Rooster”, a relentless 8+min Doom anthem called “Man-made” which starts as slow as you know them to be, then bursts into a mid paced groove that will have you banging your head uncontrollably before sending you out into oblivion as they quiet down before the last storm. And, to top it off, Brume does a cover of the classic Leadbelly song “In the Pines” or “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” (also covered by Nirvana and Mark Lanegan respectively) in their own traditional Doomed way, so get ready!
Presented here is the cover artwork, done by the incredible photographer Katrin Albert
Brume/Witch Ripper Split MMXIX
Side Witch Ripper A1. 1985
Side Brume B1. Man-made B2. In the Pines
Pre orders go live Friday January 25th at 7PM CET
Official release date March 15th
The Brume/Witch Ripper Split will be released on 3 different limited edition color vinyl options
DHU Exclusive: Limited to 90 copies Witch Ripper Edition: Limited to 100 copies Brume Edition: Limited to 100 copies
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 23rd, 2018 by JJ Koczan
That’s gotta be kind of awkward, right? You’re in Witch Ripper and you meet ‘The Witch?’ You know, I was in McCarren Airport the other day in Las Vegas about to fly home and I heard a young woman on her cellphone listening to tips on how to perform a binding spell. She had it on speaker and everything. I wonder what she’d think if she ran into Witch Ripper down at the bar. “Oh you’re in a band, that’s so cool! What are you guys called?” Instant bum-out.
Witch Ripper, though, I don’t think they’re talking about the hippie-naturalist kind of witches. At least not if the lyrics of “The Witch” are anything to go by. You can see those in the lyric video for the track at the bottom of this post, and they come from the band’s forthcoming DHU Records debut album, Homestead, which is released Sept. 28 with cover art by Adam Burke, as per the PR wire info below.
Also note the tour dates, as I doubt they’ll be the last Witch Ripper undertake in supporting the record. These guys seem ready to go, and the comparison points noted below — Mastodon, High on Fire and Baroness — I agree with wholeheartedly.
Dig:
WITCH RIPPER ANNOUNCE DEBUT LP, NEW VIDEO, PLUS TOUR DATES
WITCH RIPPER release video for the new song “The Witch” from the upcoming debut LP HOMESTEAD, out September 28th via DHU Records
Seattle based progressive sludge metal outfit WITCH RIPPER have announced the impending release of their debut full length LP Homestead via DHU Records this fall, and have released a lyric video for the track “The Witch.” With artwork from renowned painter Adam Burke, the Matt Bayles (Mastodon, The Sword, Botch) produced album sees WITCH RIPPER smashing mind bending progressive riffs with psyched out stoner metal melodies to create a wall of sound uniquely their own.
Pre-orders for Homestead will begin August 24th via DHU Records, with a digital release September 13th and official vinyl release on September 28th.
WITCH RIPPER will be touring throughout September in support of Homestead. Dates and cities listed below.
WITCH RIPPER “HOMESTEAD” TOUR DATES 9/06 SEATTLE, WA // FUNHOUSE 9/13 SPOKANE, WA // TBA 9/14 KALISPELL, MT // OLD SCHOOL RECORDS 9/15 BOISE, ID // SHREDDER 9/17 SALT LAKE CITY, UT // URBAN LOUNGE 9/18 ALBUQUERQUE, NM // MOONLIGHT LOUNGE 9/19 EL PASO, TX // RCBG 9/20 TUCSCON, AZ // CANS 9/21 PHOENIX, AZ // YUCCA TAP ROOM 9/22 SAN DIEGO, CA // TOWER BAR 9/23 LOS ANGELES, CA // FIVE STAR BAR 9/24 SAN FRANCISCO, CA // ELBO ROOM 9/25 SACRAMENTO, CA // BLUE LAMP 9/26 EUREKA, CA // SIREN’S SONG TAVERN 9/27 EUGENE, OR // HI FI LOUNGE 9/28 PORTLAND, OR // BLACK WATER
WITCH RIPPER formed in Seattle, WA behind guitarist/vocalist Curtis Parker (formerly of Iron Thrones). The debut self-titled demo EP was well received by various blogs as well as local press, drawing comparisons to Mastodon, High On Fire, and Baroness. With a solidified lineup consisting of guitarist Coltan Anderson, drummer Joe Eck, and bassist Brian Kim, the band has done several west coast tours and shared the stage with bands such as YOB, Elder, Samothrace, and CHRCH.
