ALBUM REVIEW: Dead Rituals – Swamp Witch

First formed at the end of 2009 in their hometown of Oakland, California, SWAMP WITCH quickly set about creating a name for themselves locally with their particular form of drudging, epic doom metal. Along with countless shows and lengthy tours the band have so far put out a string of quality releases with their most recent The Slithering Bog showing the kind of progression and creative maturity that had their fans eagerly awaiting the follow up with baited breath. Now, in 2019 with the release of the group’s latest effort Dead Rituals they need wait no longer.

Dead Rituals opens with Petrified In Sewage, which hits with all of the force of a war-hammer to be chest. The guitars sound heavier than hell and the tar-thick bass line is enough to shake you to the very bone. The song builds and builds well by the minute and a half mark before the first induction of vocals from front man James Ruah, who sounds an old school death metal vocalist with his deep guttural growls. The slow trudging pace of the song makes everything feel heavier and the gloom that SWAMP WITCH creates with their dissonant lead guitar parts and walls of low end distortion. The only downside to Petrified In Sewage is that it stays the course for the duration which does mean that at nine minutes long it does feel a little monotonous and the effect is reduced somewhat.

The following track Serpent Drug Cult Mythology carries on in very much the same vein with the emphasis being solely on the slowly drowning the listener in waves of dense, heavy distorted guitar riffs and ground shaking bass tones. The drums once again sound fantastic in the mix and boom away in the background, linking in perfectly with the heavy bass line to provide the solid foundation. Unfortunately, the track suffers from the same ills as it’s predecessor in the fact there are no left turns or moments of artistic revelation. However, that isn’t to say the song is unimpressive, rather it is virtually the same song as Petrified In Sewage, aside from a melodic, atmospheric lead guitar part in the second third of the song. This repetitive nature is a theme throughout the entirety of Dead Rituals.

The eponymous track itself is a little more upbeat at the outset and delivers one of the better riffs on Dead Rituals. The guitar tones are impossibly thick and crushing give the audience something to really bang their heads to. This is a glimpse of what SWAMP WITCH are capable of when they decide to shift gears even if the change itself is slight. As a result, when the vocals come in they sound even more demonic and brutal; the change gives Dead Rituals a new lease of life and begs the question of why SWAMP WITCH don’t change it up more often. The band then shift to and fro between the slow, atmospheric dirge that has flowed throughout the rest of the release with haunting guitar lines and manipulated feedback and the more upbeat sections that have been explored on this new track. There is a reason why the band have made this song the title track for the release: it is simply the strongest effort on the album.

SWAMP WITCH are a band that boast a lot of talent and they do what they do very well. However, it doesn’t matter how impressive it may be… a pony with one trick is still a one trick pony. A disappointing release for the band at this stage of their career, but the fact that they are so early on in it means that they can continue to grow and hopefully throw in a lot more variation on their next release.

Rating: 5/10

Dead Rituals is out now via Transylvanian Tapes. 

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