Legend has it that the ancient gods of Blues and Doom brought forth a four piece from the heart of Tuscany (Florence) to spread their message through the medium of music. With divine backing and a sultry and seductively voiced doomstress by the name of Virginia Monti, Psychedelic Witchcraft came into being. With a rich sound heavily rooted in the classic rock stylings of the 70’s and an air of mystery surrounding them, this Italian four piece are here to show what the gods bestowed upon them with “The Vision”.
With an unmistakable nostalgic approach, “A Creature” opens the album with a slightly haunting feel before a warm, overdriven guitar sound similar to the likes of Blue Cheer and Blue Öyster Cult comes in. With the slightly supernatural edge to it, the soft, dream-like vocals come in, creating a very mesmerising effect and the bitchin’ blues licks scattered across the track are a pleasure to indulge in. From here on out, “The Vision” maintains a similar approach.
“Witches Arise” is a bit more upbeat and despite the ominous lyrical content, it has a rather good feel about it. Punchy riffs in the verse and some really clear and constructive arpeggios in the chorus, the bulk of the song is simplistic but massively impactful with its sound, and the lead section is like any good classic rock solo – a little bit of flair mixed in with some wailing bends and nimble licks. “Demon Lair” retains the punchy feel and the sharpness and precision of the lead lines scattered across the track is on form. With a real raw infectious, hip-shaking groove and gritty vocal work, it has a great sound and feel to it whilst keeping things straight forwards.
“Wicked Ways” is one of the highlights of the album, demonstrating the bands more restrained side with a real classic blues rock number. Excellent tone control, seductive and sultry vocals which have a captivating effect and some subtle lead and melodic progressions littered throughout the track, its semi-stripped back approach works wonders and when it kicks in for the lead sections and then the big final chorus, it has a massive effect, really shining out as a great track. “The Night” brings shades of Hendrix to the musical delivery with the sound and feel of the guitars and little fills dotted across the track to spice it up and the strong vocal delivery, along with the flair filled solo tips a nod to one of the men who was influential in changing the sound of rock and roll.
From this point, there’s little variety sadly, with the remaining tracks all mirroring or sounding similar to the ones mentioned above. “The Only One That knows” is another slow paced, stripped back track full of classic blues feel. With heartfelt delivery in the music and the lyrics, it’s a soft one which has a real relaxed delivery. “War” brings back the Hendrix styled approach with copious amounts of fuzz and a real sharp and punchy delivery complete with bitchin’ lead work and this flows into “Different” which brings in a more bluesy element to the Hendrixisms across this album. With a raw, simple and infectious feel and melodic hook to it, the track flows well and has a real crisp sound to it.
Closing the album is “Magic Hour Blues” which brings back the slower pace and build up feel once again before kicking back into the classic rock approach. With softly delivered vocals in the verse and a bigger melodic delivery for the chorus, the vocals shine out once again with their sultry and captivating tone whilst the guitar delivers its lead lines with some flair and style once again. Much like the rest of the album, it’s rich in that classic feel and it closes the album well.
Overall, “The Vision” is a nod to the bands who laid the foundations for what we listen to today. With its rich and classic tone, bringing shades of the forefathers of stoner and doom, it mixes the raw and mystical qualities of the psychedelic side of the 70’s with some intriguing lyrical themes and delivery. As good as this release is, it does seem to merge into one long track sometimes and maybe more kick in certain places would hold the attention more… But from what I have seen in this vision, is that riffs, wailing solo’s and seductive vocals are something we should embrace.
(7/10 Fraggle)
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