National Music Reviews
Witches of God
Blood of Others
Self-Released
Street: 05.30
Witches of God = Black Sabbath + Witchfinder General + Saint Vitus
Lord, just try to write about one of these bands without a Sab comparison. You can’t! Right outta Vol. 4’s “Snowblind” school of riffery, Los Angeles-bred acid eaters take trad stoner fare to the outermost reaches of Dave Wyndorf’s short term memory. A pilgrimage to the swamp cabin of the witch of Endor. Guest appearances by Wino launch “The Horror” into something from the ’70s school of wicked hard rock into the twisted smoldering wreckage of a shuttle crash on planet Caravan. Yes, it’s standard doom with enough bong-water and satan-baitin’ for a hesher hootenanny of galaxial proportions. It’s that art, that sloppy fuzz-tone amp crawl and that subtle suggestion that “Yes, this is the center of the Universe,” which makes every one of Blood of Others’ clichés (“Devils III” and “Higher than the Heavens”) less a glitch, and more a well-worn dimple of bleary-eyed, slack-necked endearment. Party on witches. –Dylan Chadwick