Witchcraft are a band I’m aware of simply due to the fact that millennial metalheads can’t seem to shut the hell up about them. From what I’ve gathered, they were one of the first bands of this century to pursue the heavy ’70s sound, prior to the occult rock/proto-metal boom of the late ’00s and early ’10s. And although I’ve never given them a thorough listen (sue me) prior to this here much anticipated comeback album, Idag, the bits and pieces I’ve heard in passing over the years have been enjoyable. I mean, let’s not kid ourselves: You’d have to TRY to screw up ’70s metal worship.
As for Witchcraft, the cause of their near decade absence is due to a myriad of reasons, the most prevalent being a rotating door of bandmembers. Admittedly, Witchcraft was always less a band proper and more the creative brainchild of founder Magnus Pelander. This is, however, especially the case with Idag. Joining Pelander for this affair and fulfilling his ’70s metal fever dream are bassist Philip Pilossian and drummer Pär Hjulström. Together, the power trio bangs, crashes, and wallops their instruments on a collection of songs that run the gamut from Vol. 4 era doom to hazy stoner blues.
The front half of Idag is sung largely in Swedish, giving an exotic flair, and showcases the aforementioned Vol. 4 sound. Fuzzed out riffs, wah-wah solos, plodding tempos, and old school production dominates cuts like the title track, “Drömmar av is”, and “Drömmen om död och förruttnelse”. One can also pick up shades of doom pioneers like Pentagram and Witchfinder General, the latter whose aura dominates my choice cut, “Burning Cross”. As the title implies, and the band’s moniker for that matter, there’s no shortage of occult allusions scattered about, which fits the bill for a band of this nature.
Scattered about these showcases of prehistoric doom are gentle singer-songwriter forays like “Om du vill” and “Christmas”, as well as instrumental outros (“Gläntan”, “Om du vill (Slight Return)”). Considering my penchant for the variety that ’70s metal albums have to offer, you’d expect me to be all for these palette cleanses. Unfortunately, in the case of Idag, these glimpses of light amidst the dark do little to help its case. If we’re talking about true musical outliers, I would’ve much rather preferred more songs in the vein of “Irreligious Flamboyant Flame”, its stoner blues metal stomp sounding straight off an early Budgie or Groundhogs album, fuzz guitar maneuvers and all.
Rounded out by a rather somber pedestrian doom dirge in “Spirit”, Idag is a solid album for what it is, but fails to reach that upper echelon so many associate this band with. In fact, I’ll go a step further and argue newcomers Magick Potion execute this sound with greater conviction on their eponymous debut. I’m sure this is the part of the review where you, fuming behind your computer screen, exclaim, “There wouldn’t be a Magick Potion if it weren’t for Witchcraft!” And I’m sure you’re not wrong. I’m just not picking up the Witchcraft “hype” with Idag. Perhaps I will upon a deep dive of their back catalog. Cannonball!
6 out of 10
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
Genre: Doom Metal
For fans of: Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Witchfinder General
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