ALBUM REVIEW: Hazy Rites – Witchfinder

WITCHFINDER are a band that are quickly taking the french metal scene by storm. Since their formation in 2016, and off of the back of their debut, eponymous full length, the band have quickly garnered a sizable following, with many prolific support slots opening for stoner and doom behemoths such as MONOLORD, KADAVER and CONAN under their belts. Now, with their follow up record, Hazy Rites, the band is refining their sound even further, throwing in plenty of hardcore and sludge influences to their already powerful and heady, doom-laden sound, to create a truly great doom record that stands apart from many of their contemporaries.

WITCHFINDER open Hazy Rites on an incredibly high note with Ouija, with dense guitar lines and primal drumming helping to craft a monolithic sound right out of the gate. The bass sounds absolutely monstrous, carving a sludgy, punishing undercurrent through the rest of the music and making for a huge, robust sound. The vocals, drenched in reverb, add an epic, hazy edge to the proceedings, adding a stoner edge to the more palpable and sonorous side of the music, making for an excellent contrast that adds even more depth to the sound. With some brilliant riffs and a confident swagger, this song starts the album off on the right note.

Satan’s Haze, a vast, sprawling effort, makes great use of its extended running time by throwing plenty of fantastic hooks into the fray and building a solid, hypnotic rhythm section that draws the listener in immediately. The drums are still primitive, the vocals soar over the thick, crushing sound of the guitars and bass, and it possesses a grand, glorious atmosphere that cloaks this track all the way through, making the already gargantuan sound even more powerful. The guitars do a great job of carrying this track and making it engrossing and interesting for its whole ten minute span, switching between dense, groove laden passages and far more intricate, dancing lead flourishes that showcase the the high level of musicianship on offer. Ultimately, this is another amazing, thunderous song with a lot of great ideas spread liberally throughout the mix, but it does feel towards the songs closing moments as if it could have been a couple of minutes shorter without losing any of its appeal.

WITCHFINDER continue the trend of strength with Coverdoom, another strong track with a truly mammoth bass line that proves to be one of the loudest and most impressive songs on the album so far. With intricate, hook inflected guitars and sparsely utilized, yet effective, vocals, it’s a really good song with a lot of density in its sound, which helps to make the whole song sound absolutely monstrous, whilst not taking away from the more epic elements on offer. The crushing, monumental bass, at points evocative of Come My Fanatics era ELECTRIC WIZARD, provides a solid contrast with the more grandiose, bold guitars, which possess an air of hard rock about them, as all great stoner doom should. It doesn’t get boring or lose any of its muscular sound at any point, and is a masterclass in how to write longer tracks whilst still keeping them engaging, catchy and memorable.

Sexual Intercourse amps the groove and swagger that has been present on many parts of the album to a whole new level, with a much more sludge orientated sound dominating this particular piece of music, adding more aspects to the bands already varied and eclectic sound. The vocals provide a great counterpoint with the intensity of the music, providing a softer, eerie edge to the aggression, interspersed with some visceral, roared passages that match the driven and rabid approach of the music, which works really well and gives this song even more musical depth, balancing the more ferocious side of the sound with a glorious, misty tone that envelopes the music, making everything sound all the more expansive and fierce. It’s certainly one of the best tracks on the whole album, and outstrips what many of the bands contemporaries are doing by a country mile.

Wild Trippin’, starting with an excellent, sludgy bass line and ethereal, airy guitars, is an amazing song that ties together the bands more palpable, doom sound and a deeply atmospheric, borderline psychedelic tone to make it one of the most impressive songs on the record up to this point. Full to bursting with thick, rhythmic hooks, steady, mesmerizing drumming and haunting, angelic vocals, there’s plenty of great ideas on display here, with little in the way of dull moments. It’s gradually builds, becoming more and more monolithic as the song progresses, transforming as it heads towards its climax into a booming juggernaut with a huge, grandiose sound. With a few jarring, melody tinged lead guitar motifs thrown in towards the tracks closing moments, it also does a great job of peppering the song with a lot of great, memorable guitar and bass parts, making this song stand out significantly from many of the other offerings on the album.

Hazy Rites‘s penultimate track Sorry begins at a relative crawl, setting a funeral dirge of a pace right out of the gate with measured, authoritative drumming and thick, crunching guitars setting a bleak and foreboding tone for the rest of the song. The lead guitars add an element of melody to the proceedings, but for the most part, this is a rhythmic behemoth with a dark and oppressive sound, serving as the albums heaviest and most melancholic point. Caustic, howled vocals add even more discordance into the mix, diving between sonorous clean sections and far more acidic, bestial shrieks which lends itself well to the overall intensity of this song. There’s not much in way of variation on this song, with the vast majority of it being a variation on the main motif, with a few riffs, vocals and changes in the chord progressions sprinkled throughout to keep this song interesting throughout.

WITCHFINDER bring Hazy Rites to a close with Dans L’instant. With its great, bubbling opening bass hook Dans L’instant is another slow burning, drawn out song that manages to remain brilliant in spite of its lengthy span. With great, hypnotic guitars and haunting vocals creating a powerful, atmospheric sound that is fantastic. The bass has a great, sludgy tone, and carves a deep path through the song, with the rest of the music building around it really well, with some truly brilliant, riff heavy guitar lines with an airy, almost psychedelic edge giving this song another musical dimension that sets it apart significantly. The vocals excel like never before as well, making use of a wide range, and reaching some hair raising, soaring high notes that outstrip the songs that have preceded it, adding another epic flourish to this monumental offering. The songs climactic motif is ushered in with some heady, Hammond Organ-esque keyboards, which make this songs final moments sound all the more grandiose, throwing another amazing element into the sound and making sure that this albums final moments stand among its best. It’s a great way to close out an equally great album.

Hazy Rites is a fantastic and eclectic slab of stoner doom from WITCHFINDER that is well worth checking out. It’s got a strong, pounding rhythm section that has enough power and energy to make the music sound massive and sprawling, even at its softer moments, and blends psychedelia, sludge and a tinge of hardcore into the mix to ensure that the music is as impressive and memorable as it is thunderous. WITCHFINDER do an excellent job of balancing the various elements in its sound, so that no one element dominates the music on offer. From the music itself right down to the production, its a splendid piece of music from the first note to the last, and a worthy successor to their debut.

Rating: 9/10

Hazy Rites is out now via Black Bow Records. 

Like WITCHFINDER on Facebook.