Release Date: March 03rd 2023. Record Label: Heavy Psych Sounds. Formats: CD/DD/VInyl
Trove Of Oddities At The Devil's Driveway: Tracklisting
1.Multi-dimensional Marvelous Throne (M-DMT) 10:31
2.Nosferatu's Mastery 07:48
3.The Gorgon 03:12
4.The House That Dripped Blood 05:54
5.Yellow Nacre 06:00
6.Mountain Temple In Bleakness 08:17
Members
Jon Weisnewski (Guitar/Vocals)
Jesse Roberts (Bass/Vocals)
Nat Damm (Drums)
Review
Psych Doom/Stoner Metallers Witchthroat Serpent make a welcome return with their new album Trove of Oddities at the Devil's Driveway. Their first new album in almost five years and the band have added a new member to the line-up which allows for a more expansive and heavier sound compared to their previous albums.
Trove of Oddities at the Devil's Driveway has a darker DOOMED OUT and FUZZIER tone which allows the band to play grooves that are more AMPLIFIED in places that’s reminiscent of Electric Wizard and Black Sabbath with the band still doing their own creative thing. The album is perhaps more Psychedelic with the emphasis on Seventies Doom & Gloom atmospherics.
Opening song Multi-dimensional Marvelous Throne (M-DMT) is a trippy balance of Occult based madness with an LSD/WEEDIAN flavour heard within the excellent rhythm section. The guitars add a freakier and muscular groove for the lead vocals bringing a classic style of Doom Metal to the album. There’s guitar solos and riffs galore towards the middle of the song and that brings a Modern Day flow to the album. However, this album is all about that classic SABBATH inspired LOW & SLOW environment that brings an air of FUZZED OUT HEAVINESS. This is the longest track on the album and perhaps the most Progressive with Witchthroat Serpent playing long drawn out FUZZY notes with a menacing feel to them.
Second track Nosferatu’s Mystery carries on the Horror themes of the album with a song inspired by the legendary film. The vocals have a more “storytelling” vibe on this track with the music being firmly a Doomed Out Fuzz/Stoner affair. The music can be slow but it’s not without purpose. Witchthroat Serpent are starting to come of age on this track with the sublime music and lyrics they’ve created. The song offers a delicate balance of LOW & SLOW and AMPLIFIER DISTORTION movements against the classic style of Occult Doom/Stoner Metal. The later stages of the song become slightly creepier with the lyrics and use of different styles of gloomy atmospherics injected into the more Psychedelic aspects of the track.
Third track The Gorgon is a more Ambient/Psychedelic driven song with the band using gloomy soundscapes and distorted themes as its main sound. The song does have a more Droned Out feeling which is a good style of music to deliver here. One of the most experimental songs I’ve heard the band attempted to date but the ending of the song does feature some good old fashioned Classic Horror sounds starting to emerge and then vanish quickly into the night.
Fourth song The House That Dripped In Blood is classic Witchthroat Serpent through and through. Slow paced gloomy sounds that become wholly atmospheric and expand into melodic strands of Doom/Stoner Metal with a twisted nightmarish vibe. The song also sees the band blend more Horror imagery into the music and the lyrics that are delivered with twisted relish by the excellent vocals yet again. Perhaps the song is too “slow-moving” for its own good but when the music is wonderfully BOLD as this then I can live with that. This is another standout track from the band and the most interesting song on the album from a creative point of view.
Yellow Nacre sees the band play a classical style of Doom Metal with a FUZZED OUT METAL backdrop that perhaps contains the standard style of Doom Metal grooves. There’s not much LOW & SLOW experimentation here. As WItchthroat Serpent offer long-time fans of the band a welcome return to their earlier sounds but with some small traces of Psychedelic Distortion along the way.
The final song Mountain Temple In Bleakness is where Witchthroat Serpent at the height of their creative powers with a song that matches both the worlds of Classic Doom Metal and Modern Day Stoner Metal with the subtle sensibilities of the storyline of the album coming full circle here. The music is FUZZY as hell which would make Electric Wizard proud. The band do cover a lot of ground on this track but they wisely let the music do the talking with some of the best guitar solos and dirtiest parts of the album appearing right here.
Trove of Oddities at the Devil's Driveway is a delicious and seedy musical adventure into the FUZZIER depths of Doom/Stoner Metal with Witchthroat Serpent on majestic form throughout the album. This album has also allowed for the band to find their own definitive sound to become one of the main movers within the Doom/Stoner Metal underground scene.
With one of the best underground record labels Heavy Psych Sounds backing Witchthroat Serpent all the way on this album. Trove of Oddities at the Devil's Driveway is the type of album that should be one of the most essential albums to own and listen to if you’re a serious follower of the Doom/Stoner Metal scene.
This is a first rate release from one of the best bands of the French Doom/Fuzz/Stoner Metal scene.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo.
Trove of Oddities at the Devil's Driveway is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Heavy Psych Sounds (Europe) and Heavy Psych Sounds (USA)
Links
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