Arising from the ashes of Thorr’s Hammer, Burning Witch is known for being one of the forefathers of extreme doom metal, and featured two of the genres current luminaries in Steven O Malley and Greg Anderson who have served/currently serve in acts such as Sunn O))), Teeth of the Lions Rule The Divine, Khanate, and Goatsnake.

The beautifully packaged two-disc set comes with an incredible booklet full of amazing artwork, but more importantly contains both of the band’s 1998 EPs, Towers and Rift.Canyon. Dreams as well as a couple of bonus tracks in the form of “The Bleeder”, taken from the 2000 Goatsnake/Burning Witch Split and “Rift. Canyon. Dreams” taken from the 2004 Caprichos 1-80/Rift Canyon Dreams split.

Together you get over two hours of crawling, smothering doom metal that mixed the classic doom of Sabbath, Candlemass, Solstice, Solitude Aeternus and such but add a gnarly, extreme form of stoner doom sludge/drone, that resulted in a sound that’s been cloned countless times since.

I have to be honest and say this kind of stuff isn’t really my thing, and I’m certainly no expert on the genre then or now but I can appreciate the apparent influence and legacy of the band and material. Epic, yet fuzzed out and lethargic with a deep haze and red eyed fog, the music on both discs is raw yet deliberate. The vocals of Edgy 59 are particularly unique lying somewhere between a (Burning) Witch like rasp and the more typical classic doom croon, making the music slightly more abrasive then their peers at the time, and giving the music that much more of a caustic edge.

Vast tracks like “Warning Signs”, “Sea Hag” and “Sacred Predictions” lope and drone with barely a wasted moment and a feedback drenched menace that shows the bands appeal to both funeral doom fans, stoner doom fans and drone fans.

 

[Visit the band's website]

---

Comments