Review Summary: EW crank up the fear factor on this latest spooky offering. Laced with more doom and gloom than you could pack into Drugula's crypt, don't go in expecting a return to "Come My Fanatics"/"Dopethrone" and you might just be pleasantly surprised.
New listeners of Electric Wizard are often left bemused by the unique noise the band is able to create. The impossibly loud, infinitely drop-tuned guitars, the incessantly crashing cymbals, and the alternate wailing/droning of Jus Osborn can create a seemingly impenetrable, cacophonous wall of sound. However, given time (and/or a healthy dose of marijuana), the chaos slowly blends into an intricately crafted soundscape. The initial inaccessibility of the music represents the ethos of the band and its' members to some extent - growing up as outsiders in rural Dorset, England, the message is clear:
we are society's rejects, and we don't give a f**'.
The inspiration for this album (namely, the 1984 murder of Gary Lauwers by 'Acid King' Ricky Kasso) adds a sobering reality to 2 of the central themes of Electric Wizard's music - that is, drugs (of course) and the occult. Kasso stabbed Lauwers to death under the influence of LSD as some kind of purported Satanic ritual - the album itself will remind the listener of these events at various points, layering eerie funereal organs over real media coverage of the event. There has always been a satirical element to the Wizard's music - take Drugula, a recurring character that originated on 2006's
Witchcult Today who seeks to extract blood from the unsuspecting drug-addled masses. However, this is almost entirely absent on this latest offering, and the grisly real-life events that underpin the lyrics across the 9 tracks really add weight to the bleakness, the despair, and the downright
evilness to the sound that the Wizard have achieved on this latest effort, in a way that nothing they have produced in the past has.
The album strips away a lot of the lighter, more riff-driven approach of 2010's
Black Masses, harking back to the more experimental sound of the seminal
Dopethrone. Doubtless this move was orchestrated in part by the return of original drummer Mark Greening (although Greening has since been unceremoniously dropped yet again - with rumors circulating that he wasn't even paid for his efforts). The drums add a gravity to the sound that previous efforts have lacked, whether it be the military-style snare-led march that introduces
I Am Nothing, or the precise trading of rolls and crashes that litter
Incense For The Damned. Osborn successfully channels his rage into the guitars, with punchy, infectious riffs in some places that will claw at your brain (
Incense For The Damned, Lucifer's Slaves), and desolate, dirge-esque stompers in others (
I Am Nothing, Funeral Of Your Mind). Osborn's droning, which is often criticized for being overly monotonous, complements the doomed feel of the album in a way that works more to this particular album's strength.
Accusing a doom metal band of lacking variety in their songs is something of a paradox - the music by nature is repetitive. In the past, Electric Wizard have managed to shift styles/tempos in a way that almost uniquely stopped an album from stagnating.
Dopethrone, for example, has a perfect blend of intense trips (
Funeralopolis), and more relaxed space adventures (
Weird Tales). This creativity has played a large part in the band cementing the reputation that they have. However, the sheer oppressiveness of the sound on this album means that EW's attempt to replicate this formula falls a little flat. That's not to say the quality of the songs is any lower - rather that, the listener is more likely to be worn down by their relentlessness. There are one or two weaker tracks, as to be expected (Sadiowitch would neatly slot in at any point of
Black Masses, for instance), but a seasoned fan could happily jump in at any point.
Those who expected a return to the titans of the early discography of Electric Wizard were inevitably going to be disappointed. However, this LP is yet another remarkably solid effort from the Sabbath progenies, and after the hit-and-miss reception of their previous effort, 'Black Masses', is a welcome addition. Anyone who is familiar with and enjoys other EW albums is certain to find something on here to groove to. However, for newcomers looking to get to grips with this unique outfit, there are better places to start.
