WITCHROT
Soul Cellar
Fuzzed And Buzzed Records / Majestic Mountain Records

Wake up and smell the roses spring is here! For some that means going outside, hiking in the mountains, and preparing for summer. For metalheads, it means putting on a doom metal album while cutting the grass and desperately trying to shield ourselves from the revitalizing ultraviolet rays that somehow has returned.

Speaking of doom metal, if doom metal had a basement, Canadian band WITCHROT would be the band summoning spirits in the corner, soaked in reverb and righteous fury. Toronto’s heaviest export since the last snowstorm, they don’t just play music, they conjure it from the abyss with their new album “Soul Cellar”. Will this heavy and proactive work of distortion make me forget about the heat outside? Let’s take a dive and see!

THE BAND

Born from the frostbitten depths of Toronto’s underground, WITCHROT is a doom-laden, fuzz-drenched force of occult rock alchemy. Fronted by the spellbinding vocals of Lea Alyssandra Reto, the band channels the dark theatricality of vintage metal while dragging it through a swamp of modern sludge and psychedelia. Guitarist Peter Turik conjures riffs thick enough to raise the dead, matched by Nick Dolphin’s cavernous bass, Patrick Sherrard’s eerie, analog-drenched keys, and Myles Deck’s thunderous, ritualistic drumming. The result? A sound that feels like Black Sabbath raised on heartbreak, horror movies, and a healthy dose of nihilism.

Their debut album “Hollow” offered an incomparable heaviness that transported the listener back to the glory days of stoner doom that permeated record stores and indie horror film soundtracks. Will their sophomore album keep that feeling going?

THE ALBUM

“Soul Cellar” is a cocktail of intensity and psychedelic blues that has been garnished with a healthy dose of groovy and surprisingly jazzy crooning. The album begins with my personal favorite track “Possession Deepens”. This nearly 7-minute track gives the listener a crash course in everything they need to know about WITCHROT, with sludgy guitars and a foggy atmosphere. Reto’s vocals are on full display here with dramatic and head-spinning verses that give the audience a sense of hopeful dread.

The ethereal feeling continues as we progress through great tracks such as “Tombstoned” (Would ya look at that! A fun play on words!) and “Die Alone”, but the real heavy hitter comes out with the most recent single from the album, “Throat Cutter”. With a song title like that, the listener may think that they are listening to a grindcore track, but the doom vibes are strong with this one.

The album concludes with three amazing tracks in “Green River”, “Spineless”, and the titular “Soul Cellar”. Each track continuing that brain-fog feeling that leaves us craving more and more.

THE VERDICT

If you are someone who is into a slower and more methodical form of metal music, I have a hard time recommending something other than this. It ticks all the boxes necessary for a stoner-doom band and adds some new accoutrements that are undeniable delectable. “Soul Cellar” is out on Fuzzed And Buzzed Records May 23rd. Get yourself a copy and kick back, relax and tune out.

Matthew McCune