Acid Witch Stoned (Hell's Headbangers, 2011)
It drives me nuts when I see a really good, totally unknown band that is getting poor reviews simply because they promote themselves incorrectly. This is one such band. Hailing from the strange and foreign land known as Michigan, Acid Witch consists of only two members, who simply go by the names Shagrat and Dave. The cleverly-named Stoned is their second full-length album.
On their Myspace and other pages, they claim to be doom metal, and that is a mistake, because they clearly are not doom. This is more like psychedelic stoner metal with death-grunt vocals. They have a campy, goofy sense of humor (see: "Metal Movie Marijuana Meltdown"), but the songs are extremely catchy, with great riffs that are tailor-made for handbanging. They also have a unique bend of stoner themes, Sabbath-inspired riffs, and psychedelic 70s keyboards that I've never heard before.
The keyboards are what really makes this album stand out. They are used sparingly, but they are extremely effective when they are used, such as in “Live Forever.” They yank the listener out of the sludgy trenches being dug by the weight of the guitar riffs, and send you soaring for a few brief moments before the combined mass of the Dave’s massive riffs and Shagrat’s deep, gruff vocals drag you back down to earth.
This is a really good album and I recommend checking it out. Just don't expect doom metal, because that's not what they are. This is more of a "have a few beers and cookout with your buddies" album than anything else, so grab a case of imported beer (I recommend Newcastle Brown Ale or anything brewed by Hoffbräu), fire up the grill, and enjoy this for what it is.
Overall rating: 8.5/10
On their Myspace and other pages, they claim to be doom metal, and that is a mistake, because they clearly are not doom. This is more like psychedelic stoner metal with death-grunt vocals. They have a campy, goofy sense of humor (see: "Metal Movie Marijuana Meltdown"), but the songs are extremely catchy, with great riffs that are tailor-made for handbanging. They also have a unique bend of stoner themes, Sabbath-inspired riffs, and psychedelic 70s keyboards that I've never heard before.
The keyboards are what really makes this album stand out. They are used sparingly, but they are extremely effective when they are used, such as in “Live Forever.” They yank the listener out of the sludgy trenches being dug by the weight of the guitar riffs, and send you soaring for a few brief moments before the combined mass of the Dave’s massive riffs and Shagrat’s deep, gruff vocals drag you back down to earth.
This is a really good album and I recommend checking it out. Just don't expect doom metal, because that's not what they are. This is more of a "have a few beers and cookout with your buddies" album than anything else, so grab a case of imported beer (I recommend Newcastle Brown Ale or anything brewed by Hoffbräu), fire up the grill, and enjoy this for what it is.
Overall rating: 8.5/10
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