Apparently they used to be called Wytch Hazel. Or Witch Hazel. But even though I’m a bit hazy I think there is at least one other so here we are with SpellBook. From York. No not the UK home of Vikings, but Pennsylvania USA.
One look at the band photos, all floppy hats, bandanas and tight tops and you can probably guess the musical country. Add in the wonderful garishly coloured cover if you’re still unsure. It’s That Seventies Show. Or is it? I heard a track on Vol1 of the Cruz Del Sur compilation Allies (in aid of Solstice’s Rich Walker) and it was nicely bridging the gap between epic and doom so I thought this was worth a look.
‘Wands To The Sky’ starts off with a lovely guitar run that brings back memories of Corsair (are they still about?) before the actually almost NWOBHM bouncing riff piles in. The high vocals kind of come somewhere between Ozzy and Trouble’s Matt Wagner which is nice. It runs at a neat lick of pace too and as you can probably guess from the title there’s a fair bit of humour here too. It’s a very cool start. Retro with all the required references, a few threads to bands like Khemmis too and some nice musicianship on show.
‘Black Shadow’ slows down into more doomy territory with keyboards making their presence felt and the spectre of that Hammond sound sneaking in along with the harmonica. Hey it’s full of life an energy though, a bright production keeping it out of generic fuzz territory and a very cool Stateside swagger to it. Yeah, OK these guys can play. And write. ‘Ominous Skies’ cements this with some lovely guitar composition, from almost gentle Corsair styled rock through thoroughly metal runs and whipping by prog and boogie with a tip of the hat as it goes.
We then kinda get into the epic part of the album. ‘Not Long For This World’ is a melancholy song, minimal accompaniment to the strained but compelling and emotional vocals between lovely doses of DOOM! Again, I feel the shadow of Trouble here, the self-titled album, but also the kind of modern vitality Khemmis bring to the table. Eight minutes but its inventive, shifting stuff, plenty of low down chugging power and melody.
‘Motorcade’ is probably where the album hints at a weird little detour. This is strange. I doubt anyone will believe me but amidst this seriously driving riff there’s a peculiar touch of Mind Funk in the vocals, the way the riff drops down, the excellent drumming… And just a way more serious atmosphere. A touch of the feel to Orchid’s bleak ‘Helicopter’ maybe? Whatever, its superb.
‘Amulet/Fare Thee Well’ is just great epic, fantasy heavy rock/metal. A clear as a bell melody line tugging on your heart. The vocals softened here, backing vocals rounding them out, keyboards whispering, a fantastic lead break with one little motif that is a wonderful ringer for Heart’s ‘Crazy On You’. In fact there a little touch of early Heart here and there, something in the sylvan tinge to this fine, fine song. Piano, lyrical bass lines; so much going on but it never seems fussy or messy, just beautiful.
And. Er. The finale! ‘Dead Detectives’. Er…eleven and a half minutes of…well it begins with rain on streets, a piano flourish and a bass and drum shuffle straight out of a jazzy film noir soundtrack. A gravelly voice painting the scene…Twilight zone time. Smoke and closing bars, hard boiled crime and needy dames, telephones ringing, snatches of other voices and…then the boogie riff just crashes in, yet somehow following the previous musical signature. It drifts back into our twilight zone once more and finally just wanders away into the rain. It manages to be a head scratcher, a chill out and an anti-climax all together somehow. I feel as though the pay off came too early and the rest was just a cold, rainy walk home. But equally that fits in with the song too. So even after numerous plays I’m still uncertain.
When they are good, SpellBook are frankly almost flawless. They have ideas, complexity, energy and just rock out like the best. They also clearly have their own quirks, which is no bad thing indeed.
All in all a fine album indeed.
(8/10 Gizmo)
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