Brit-metallers Witchfinder General were members of the second wave of stoner metal as well as part of the much-lauded New Wave of British Heavy Metal (a role they shared with bigger, more famous acts like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden). I'm more interested in their contributions to the 80s doom rock resurgence. Black Sabbath (and others) kicked off the whole stoner rock thing back in the early 70s (building upon the foundations left by blues-based psyche rock outfits of the 60s). At the same time, they helped kick off heavy metal itself. And they were rooted in blues. I didn't expect my W.G. review to deteriorate into an analysis of Sabbath's cornerstone status in heavy music. But it gives some historical background for Witchfinder General's contributions to both the stoner rock scene and the heavy metal movement. Probably, General's efforts mean more to doomsters than to metalheads, unless the metalheads in question are of the enthusiastic old school variety. There are plenty of lesser known metal bands from the era for straightforward metalheads to dig into. But the more elite stoner scene (elite because there are simply fewer bands of this nature from earlier eras than general metal, IMHO), Witchfinder General represents one of the obscure (outside this fandom) acts that resurrected the whole classic Sabbath sound. Sure, Sabbath was still around in the 80s when W.G. cranked out its two albums, but Sabbath was in the midst of a power metal renaissance, having kept the slow, driving, heavy riffs that are Tony Iommi's trademark but having swerved to a more power metal mien, albeit of a doomy variety. General came along and, lo and behold, the old school Sabbath sound was back, but not from Sabbath. It is fair to say that General's take on the sound wasn't quite as snazzy as Sabbath in its heyday and was, by definition, derivative, but nonetheless, General's music was worthy, having upstepped the thoughtful occultism and mysticism of early Sabbath into the posturing devil rock with which the 80s was rife. Some bands, like Slayer, employed the imagery on a satirical platform. Others did it largely as pop shock darkness. Still others took it quite seriously, especially many in the black metal underground of the time. But W.G. falls into the posturing category. Their silly devil lyrics had all the depth and seriousness of a horror movie. Think of it as horror movie turned metal. Witchfinder General is a fun band that sings about the kind of stuff you watch in those flicks. Same difference. And not even all their songs were about that stuff anyway. Really, this isn't a band to whose lyrics you pay attention. It's all about the riffs and psyche-metal melodies. And when it comes to that, it rocks. Witchfinder General stands proud in the succession of doom rock bands that extends from the likes of Black Sabbath way back when, all the way to, say, Clutch and Queens of the Stone Age.
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AUTHOR: Upchuck Undergrind
Upchuck Undergrind listens to a little bit of a lot of things - just note the eclecticism of his reviews. He also reads voraciously and loves movies. He is a very open-minded Episcopalian (and student of Buddhism and Hinduism) who thinks Slayer is one of the greatest metal bands. Ever. In addition to his work with Corazine - for which he has written since its inception (he is a Fishcomcollective veteran) - he also writes for DJFix.com.