Back catalogue: Metal

Review: Tracked during the pandemic in their crypt-like jam space tucked away on the outskirts of the English Westcountry, Black Magic Rituals & Perversions Vol. 1 offers up a live album performed in front of no audience and recorded directly to 16-track tape, with primary songwriter Jus Oborn explaining "We'd been gigging for two years at that point, around America three times, going to Japan and Australia, and we were sounding pretty good by the end of it. When the pandemic happened, we thought, 'Fuck it, maybe we'll never play again.' So we went into the jam room and played the songs to get them on tape to capture how we were playing at the time." Long known as the British counterweight to psychedelic stoner doom-sludge auteurs on the other side of the Atlantic such as Sleep and Eyehategod, this collection showcases Electric Wizard in all of their raw, unedited, fuzzed out, hefty glory, and will have you praising the bong gods that seeing them live is still an option post-pandemic.

Review: In the honest words of vocalist/guitarist Jus Oborn - "We'd been gigging for two years at that point, around America three times, going to Japan and Australia, and we were sounding pretty good by the end of it. When the pandemic happened, we thought, 'Fuck it, maybe we'll never play again.' So we went into the jam room and played the songs to get them on tape to capture how we were playing at the time." That's essentially the no frills summation of Black Magic Rituals & Perversions Vol. 1; a live album performed in front of no audience, recorded directly to a 16-track tape machine in the crypt of a rehearsal space on the outskirts of the English Westcountry that Electric Wizard call home. An unbridled dose of heaving, homegrown psych-tinged doom-sludge from the British counterparts of contemporaries such as Eyehategod, Sleep, and Bongzilla.

Review: Often perceived as the UK's consulate of psychedelic, sludgy stoner-doom akin to US counterparts Sleep, Eyehategod and Bongzilla, the elusive and crushing Electric Wizard found themselves staring down the abyss of creative purpose once the 2020 pandemic hit. According to lead vocalist/guitarist/primary songwriter Jus Oborn - "We'd been gigging for two years at that point, around America three times, going to Japan and Australia, and we were sounding pretty good by the end of it. When the pandemic happened, we thought, 'Fuck it, maybe we'll never play again.' So we went into the jam room and played the songs to get them on tape to capture how we were playing at the time." Descending to their crypt/practice space located on the outskirts of the English Westcountry, the band would perform a bombastic live set for no audience whatsoever, recorded directly to a 16-track tape machine, with the fuzzed out, chaotic results dubbed Black Magic Rituals & Perversions Vol. 1. While you can thank the Ganja Gods the band still have the ability to tour, if you've yet to experience the Wizard in all of their raw, heaving, hefty glory, this voyeuristic fly-on-the-wall earful should provide ample warmth in the interim.

Review: Electric Wizard are one of those bands that a lot of people might not be particularly aware of. But those that know, really do know. Often cited as the most influential UK sludge-stoner-doom outfit - a group that took on a staunchly southern USA sound and made it in their own, unusual, Devonshire image - two albums preceded 2000's Dopethrone, and both were fantastic. First we had Electric Wizard, then the exceptional Come My Fanatics... According to founding father Jus Oborn, that pair and Dopethrone complete "a trilogy of terror", and it's hard to argue that Act III isn't the crowning glory. Rhythms so thick you feel like your sinking into the quagmire, refined lead guitar work like instrumental poetry, and this overwhelming atmosphere of sticky, swampy heat. A landmark you need.

Review: The Butcher Basement is a reimagined and blood-soaked rebirth of Extermination Dismemberment's 2010 debut album, which is dripping with gore and heavy with brutality. The wholly re-recorded release captures the grotesque atmosphere of its original conference but with added detail worked into the sounds. With these revamped compositions of fresh material rooted in their early style, plus sharpened production, these metal sounds hit harder than ever and thrive in morbid theatrics. Rather than just a simple reissue, The Butcher Basement is a whole new resurrection.