ACID WITCH — Witchtanic Hellucination (review)

ACID WITCH — Witchtanic Hellucination album cover Album · 2008 · Death-Doom Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Time Signature
Into the cave...

Genre: stoner doom

Originally released in 2008, this stoner doom classic will be unleashed upon the world once more later this month, as Hell's Headbangers Records have decided to reissue it.

This is one of those albums, where I simply just do not know whether I like it or not. I mean, it is full of really awesome crushingly heavy riffs, and the guitars have a fuzzy crunch to them, not unlike what you would hear in early death metal - I mean just check the chucking riffage in 'Witchblood Cult'. Being a psychedelically oriented stoner doom band, Acid Witch make heavy use of references to 70s rock, which I appreciate.

But at the same time, the psychedelia sometimes seems forced, and some of the many 70s rock references are, likewise, a bit over the top. But what really does not sit well with me is the use of guttural, almost burpy vocals which are drowned in reverb. Part of this owes to my own bias, as I generally do not like growled vocals in doom metal, because, due to their lack of tonality, growls can make doom metal seem undeservedly one-dimensional. That is what happens here, which is a shame because the music itself, as I hinted at earlier, does appeal to me with its crushing riffs and heavy grooves. I just have a hard time not being annoyed at the monotonous vocals.

In some reviews, the reviewer bends over backwards to diss the music and ends up recommending people not to buy the album. This review will not end like that, because that would be hypocritical of me. I would actually recommend any fan of stoner doom and death-doom to give this album a listen and check it out for themselves - chances are that they will be less intolerant than me and actually like the album for its dark atmosphere and crushing riffage.
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