WITCH RIPPER

I have been rather obsessively following new releases this year including stalking all the metal sites. I've also gotten more into the heavy psych / stoner metal side of things lately. So among the many random albums that have come across those lists was Witch Ripper (a bit of an unfortunate name if you ask me) and their album THE FLIGHT AFTER THE FALL. A sampling of the promo lead single "Enter the Void" and its trippy video gives the listener a perfect idea of the band's sound. Combining Mastodon and Baroness at their (for me) approx. 2010 peak and adding more psych, this album is exactly the kind of music that delights my ears.

This is a guitar-heavy, multi-textured affair, with every song longer than 7 minutes and a 16+ minute epic. There are two main vocal textures, one harsh and one melodic (very much a la Mastodon). Like a lot of heavy psych rock, the tones are more traditional and there is a bit of looseness that makes the music feel like a band rather than a computer composition. i.e. This is NOT djent. The riffs have a good deal of variety, and the band covers a good range of moods from dreamier sections to aggressive and angry to frustrated and crazed.

The "prog" aspects are not at all in your face, but as the album progresses, the degree of planned composition involved in these songs becomes obvious. There is a LOT going on here, and the band does a great job of making sure the parts relate to each other and build. Whereas some metal bands simply stack cool riffs, this band is thinking about songs. The way the guitars intertwine during instrumental sections is great, and the through it all the band grooves.

The biggest criticism might be that the band leans a little too much on the Mastodon and Baroness influences. However, those older bands have moved in other directions and I don't know of anyone else making this kind of heavy stoner prog right now. Maybe Elder. And because I love all of those bands, I'm not going to knock these guys for it.

This has pushed some other very good bands off the pedestal for album of the year for me one quarter in. I've given it a good month and it still holds up very well. So I'm going to give the 5 stars.

Despite being around since 2012, the band didn't put out its first full-length release until 2018. Homestead is a solid album with some great moments. It's more sludge-with-prog-elements than vice-versa, but it still holds its own. Their new album, The Flight after the Fall, has more explicitly progressive leanings.

The album begins with the haunting atmospherics of "Enter the Loop". Eventually, though, thundering guitar and bass storm in alongside clattering drums. The vocals are delicate, in contrast to this powerful backing. There's a soaring, ascendant quality to the chorus, which suits this album's sci-fi themes well. This approach is balanced against flashy, technical sludge riffs during the verses for a wonderfully well-rounded song.

"Madness and Ritual Solitude" follows. A rolling tom pattern sets a fittingly ritualistic mood before doom-laden walls of guitar crash through to the fore. By the time the piece coalesces into a verse, the tempo has increased, and the intensity is evocative of the best moments on Leviathan. This is a crushing, powerful cut that's able to harness the band's raw energy. Jazzy, King Crimson-inspired instrumental theatrics are sprinkled in throughout, to great effect.

Gentle, warbling guitar opens "The Obsidian Forge". It fosters a slightly unsettling feeling as palm-muted riffs and tom fills bubble beneath the surface. Strong echoes of Mastodon's best work are again evident, but Witch Ripper's own unique melodic tendencies keep this song their own. This piece ends on a lovely, interstellar-sounding instrumental passage, and the deployment of synth pads goes a long way in fleshing things out.

"Icarus Equation" blasts off with incessantly heavy, mid-tempo riffing. In this song's midsection, the guitars switch from propulsive to plodding, giving a sense of raw desperation to match the lyrics. Following a brief, flashy guitar solo, this song's final two minutes synthesizes this song's preceding moods into a majestic climax.

The Flight after the Fall ends on its longest song, the 17-minute, two-part "Everlasting in Retrograde". A brief, slightly-askew, Middle-Eastern-flavored intro leads to a crushing guitar line and roughly-shouted vocals. Clean vocals lend a sense of grandiosity during slower passages. The instrumental passages in this first part are tight and engaging; nothing feels extraneous.

Part one ends on a gentle note and leads directly into the anxious guitar-driven opening of part two. After a moody, two-minute instrumental passage, gentle vocals come in, and swelling synth pads lend a softness to this section. As the intensity builds though, the song erupts into a dramatic, emotive guitar solo. The final minute of this song is a gentle cool-down from its soaring apex. This is a fittingly epic conclusion to this record.

Witch Ripper's newest release is an enthralling blend of sludge metal and progressive rock. Harsh and heavy passages are expertly balanced against gentler moments. There's a sense of sonic continuity between the songs, but the tracks still manage to stand out from one another. This is an exciting record that is absolutely worth your time.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2023/03/20/album-review-witch-ripper-the-flight-after-the-fall/