ALBUM REVIEW: The Serpent Tide – Witchskull
While the cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane take up all the room on Australian advertisement boards, on the fringes of the country’s south west coast lies its capital, Canberra. Deep in its depths, lurking in the shadows is the thunderous beast WITCHSKULL, a fiery band that do not care what anyone else thinks and are unafraid to break the mould by offering up a refreshing and visceral take on stoner.
Having erupted onto the scene in 2015, WITCHSKULL have been going from strength to strength, blending pugnacious post-BLACK SABBATH riffs with an abrasive melodic fervour and speed inspired by the NWOBHM and executed with MOTÖRHEAD like ruthlessness. Gritty, grimy and dark in sound, WITCHSKULL are also masters of abstract storytelling, straddling the realms of the otherworld and the mystical. These tales are woven throughout the band’s crushing fourth album The Serpent Tide.
Like many albums in recent years, The Serpent Tide is the product of an intense creative burst during the plagued years of 2020 and 2021. While Canberra wasn’t as strict on its lockdown measures, the pandemic still had a significant impact on WITCHSKULL. This presented the Canberran trio with an excellent opportunity to construct their most monolithic creation to date. With the strange, deeply conceptual stories and cautionary tales of Marcus De Pasquale’s lyrics intertwined with the crushing bass riffing from Tony McMahon and heavy drum grooves of Joel Green, The Serpent Tide feels like a significant progression in WITCHSKULL’s journey.
The band’s alternative approach to stoner has always been fascinating. Moving away from the spaced out, fuzzy, red-eyed riffs that are popular amongst their contemporaries, WITCHSKULL actively look to expand the boundaries of stoner with every album. The Serpent Tide sees them branch into new territory again whilst simultaneously maintaining their trademark grit and rawness. Mixing the usual suspects of doom and psych, whilst adding the hard-hitting sounds of traditional metal and the soulful, tripped out, acidic vibes of psychedelic blues, it is their most diverse album to date, and you can hear that the trio have embraced this evolutionary progression fully and passionately.
Whilst still being fuzz-drenched and trippy, The Serpent Tide requires more of the listener’s attention. With the purple thread of esoteric mystery running through the album – with thanks to De Pasquale’s lyrics – there is a considerable amount of nuance to the record. With a variety of deeply thought-out lyrical concepts, the occult and otherworldly come alive in ways that you do not expect, which is aided by De Pasquale’s unique vocal delivery.
Musically, The Serpent Tide ebbs and flows like the waves (pun intended). Its hypnotic lull washes over you as you deeply immerse yourself in its darkness, eeriness and strangeness. Yet there is also a ferocious thunder that drives this album forward – savagely primal and with a 1990s grunginess that makes the doom/stoner elements sound so much gnarlier. The layers of grit and fuzz make this album sound huge, and alongside this is a layer of dark psychedelia that really cements the album together beautifully. With that in mind, the enigmatic presence of this album stays with you long after the final track.
Opening up with colossal doom track Tyrian Dawn, the album erupts into life with fury. From this moment onwards you can see that this is unlike any WITCHSKULL album that has come before. The more bluesy riff elements add an extra layer of groove alongside the ferociously chugged chord riffs. Obsidian Eyes has a grinding psych rock vibe; mesmeric but also otherworldly, the band demonstrate their commitment to offering something different with their brand of stoner. Sun Carver is one of the album’s highlights. Intensely dark and brooding, the psych and doom elements intermingle in an unearthly ritual that captivates you.
Bornless Hollow and The Serving Ritual form a juggernaut sized duo at the halfway point of the album; huge, groove-laden stoner tracks with screeching guitar wizardry and frantic drumming. This burst of energy leads into the title track The Serpent Tide. Slower, more dramatic, the uniqueness of De Pasquale’s vocals really shine through as they bellow a despairing story that haunts you. Misery’s Horse brings back the gritty, bluesy grooves and stoner power before transitioning into a hulking doom verse. Layers of guitar leads once again explore their unworldly approach to psych. Album closer Rune Of Thorn consolidates the record brilliantly, bringing in all those elements into one powerful climax of brooding riffs, bluesy guitar leads and monumental grooves.
WITCHSKULL certainly used their time wisely. This album is a celebration of the band’s continual quest to change the perceptions of what stoner can be. Within its deep layers of enigmatic concepts, fuzzy riffs and chaotic rhythms, there is a powerful core of fiery passion that drives this band forward. The Serpent Tide rocks your mind, body and soul in all the best ways.
Rating: 8/10
The Serpent Tide is set for release on June 16th via Rise Above Records.
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