Release Date: December 06th 2024. Record Label: Garage Fire Records. Formats: DD
Living Just For Knife Fighting - Track Listing:
1.Living Just For Dying 04:34
2.The Wizard Who Loved Me 05:25
3.Tomorrow Dies 06:12
4.Sanity's Eclipse 04:51
5.Varsak of Man 06:02
6.A Wizard's Blade 05:08
7.My Second Knife Fight 05:05
8.Edge of Reprisal 02:28
9.In the Meantime (Helmet Cover) 03:38
10.Dirty Black Summer (Danzig Cover)
11.Orgasmatron (Motörhead Cover)
Members
All songs written, performed, and produced by Bram the Bard.
Vocals on "Varsak of Man" by Fausto Aurelius; vocals on "A Wizard’s Blade" by Djinnifer; additional vocals on "My Second Knife Fight" by Fausto Aurelius and Brick Diesel.
Review
Living Just For Knife Fighting is the new album from Doom/Stoner Rock unit Wizard Tattoo and is the full complete release of their acclaimed EP’s Living Just For Dying and One Of These Knives which I reviewed both earlier this year. This album doesn’t offer any new versions of these tracks but it’s good to have them in one complete collection where you can here Bram The Bard journey through areas of Psych, Doom, Sludge, Stoner, Blackened ‘N’ Roll, Blues Rock, Americana and Country that appear throughout the whole album.
The only difference for these releases is that Bram has included covers of the classic tracks:
In the Meantime (Helmet Cover)
Dirty Black Summer (Danzig Cover)
Orgasmatron (Motörhead Cover)
Here’s my original thoughts of each original EP’s release.
Living Just For Dying
Sludge/Stoner Metal collective Wizard Tattoo returns with their new EP Living Just For Dying and it’s a completely different tonal shift compared to their gloriously entertaining debut album Fables Of The Damned. This time round Wizard Tattoo opts for an Acoustic blend of Folk and Jazz for the majority of the EP. However, there are moments of heavy Sludge/Stoner movements but it’s mostly out done with the heavy reliance on Acoustic and Prog Rock sounds.
That’s not to say there isn’t any enjoyment to be found from Living Just For Dying and I will admit I prefer the outlandish sounds heard within Fables Of The Damned. This can be best described as Dark Americana Folk which comes into superb effect on the haunting opening track Living Just For Dying.
Living Just For Dying offers a hazy and muted collection of outstanding tracks that will surprise the dedicated followers of Wizard Tattoo. Though the later stages do offer some fantastic melodic Grunge/Stoner rhythms that could easily have been lifted from Fables Of The Damned.
It may take a few listens to form an actual opinion of the record as it takes many subtle turns along the way which does become a more refreshing experience with multiple listens.
One Of These Knives
Wizard Tattoo returns with their superb new EP One Of These Knives which is a cautionary style of Doom Metal, Stoner Rock and NWOBHM which matches the creative surroundings of their 2022 debut EP and acclaimed 2023 debut album Fables Of The Damned.
There’s a scorched Desert Rock philosophy appearing within the opening track Varsak Of Man which blends that classic Stoner Rock/Metal vibe with an almost Blackened Roll approach. The song does see the band surround themselves with movements of Thrash Metal and Prog Rock overlays whilst staying within the Doom Rock/Stoner Metal framework that he’s applied for all of his records he’s released to date
Final Thoughts on Living Just For Knife Fighting
The added bonus of those three extra covers offers a fresh perspective and dynamic to this release as they offer the heaviest parts of the album with the excellent covers of In The Meantime (Helmet) and Orgasmatron (Motorhead) being the closest we’ll get from Wizard Tattoo to match the brilliant intensity of their classic album Fables Of The Damned.
The covers are quite spaced out and psychedelic to their originals. I’m not too keen on the Dirty Black Summer cover as I’m not the biggest fan of DANZIG but I know that he’s a huge influence on Bram The Bard and it’s good to see this included here. It’s a great performance and interpretation of that track but I can take it or leave it. Apologies to Bram on that one. The vocals are excellent by Djinnifer though and offer one of the strongest performances of these batch of covers.
However, Living Just For Knife Fighting is the complete version to get of these releases and could be considered the “Director’s Cut” from Wizard Tattoo. With a stunning array of different genres, themes and sounds on this record, Wizard Tattoo have outdone themselves yet again. I still prefer Fables Of The Damned but this is still an outstanding album within it’s own right.
Words by Steve Howe
One Of These Knives All Quiet will be available to buy on Digital Download from Friday 06th December 2024.
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