Hailing from Sabbath City,
Birmingham, UK, Margarita Witch Cult are set to unleash their self-titled debut
on April 21st via Italian label Heavy Psych Sounds Records. The trio
offers us an eclectic LP that fuses heavy rock, metal, stoner, and heavy psych
while dabbling in the occult and horror themes.
The super cool album cover got my
attention and, in all honesty, it’s what got me curious to stay past the first
track, “Diabolical Influence”, which I found sounded generic (and still does
after three spins of the entire record). Everything that follows though, is
much better thankfully. “Death Lurks at Every Turn” firmly establishes frontman/guitarist
Scott Vincent’s sleazy Rob Zombie-type vocals and I dig that a lot. It’s a
high-energy tune, the kind of kick-ass doomy metal I enjoy. “The Witchfinder
Comes” follows with its menacing sound, a definite highlight of the album. The lyrics
make it easy to picture it in your mind and would make for a very atmospheric
videoclip. “Be My Witch” is my favourite song on the LP; a catchy tune with a
great melody and an old school vibe all around. “Annihilation” is a fast,
groovy track that flies by at just under two minutes in length. “Theme from Cyclops”
is the obligatory short instrumental as seems to be the case with every band that
puts out an LP these days. It’s good, but not indispensable. “Lord of the Flies”
is a terrific doomy and devilish tune with a Sabbathian riff. The fuzz is
strong with this one. “Aradia” is a lengthier instrumental, an interlude of
sorts before the final track. I always expected vocals to kick in at any given moment,
but alas, they never came. “Sacrifice”, the heaviest song of the album, closes
us out. Its occult imagery makes it a very visual tune that’s a solid way to
exit.
Margarita Witch Cult’s eponymous
first LP is a strong debut that does leave room for improvement. It got better
on subsequent spins and I believe it will continue to improve as time goes by. It’s
almost a concept album with its recurring occult themes and storytelling. There’s
a sense of foreboding pervading throughout the duration which makes for a
spooky listening experience. One thing is for sure, it’s certainly an ambitious
album. The wide-ranging genres of music and influences make this a record that
will appeal to a broad spectrum of listeners. Give it a spin; chances are you’ll
have a blast with it!
Heavy Psych Sounds’ Margarita Witch Cult Bandcamp page: https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/margarita-witch-cult-margarita-witch-cult
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