Occult Witches is a band from Sherbrooke, Quebec that offers an explosive blend of hard Rock, Heavy Blues Psych and Stoner. The new album “Sorrow’s Pyre” was released on July 12, 2024 via Black Throne Productions and contains 9 medium-length tracks. The album opens with “Intro,” a brief introduction with ambient effects that takes us towards “Malice.” The track opens with guitar arpeggios and Vanessa‘s splendid voice, dynamic and expressive. With the entry of the rhythm section, the band develops a granitic, energetic and engaging sound with well-constructed guitar riffs and incisive vocals. The guitar offers beautifully crafted solo inserts, a powerful opener that enhances the band’s compositional and performing technique. One of the album’s shortest tracks, “Tumbling Through The Dark,” is another powerhouse of energy, with heavy guitar riffs and a granitic rhythm section. A rock rush to which is added the dynamic vocals, definitely a trademark and an added value for the band. Refined guitar interventions alternate with the vocal parts, creating intense rhythm sections. “Faustian Bargain” is the longest track on the album, exceeding five minutes in length. A melancholic guitar arpeggio and a warm, expressive vocal open the track, showing the band’s blues influences. The intensity increases as the minutes go by, evolving the sound with heavy sonorities and fine instrumental sections with the guitar as the protagonist. The rhythm section is enriched by tempo changes, solid and elaborate drumming and a killer bassline, allowing them to move from softer moments to others where the band unleashes all its power. Acoustic guitar arpeggios characterise “Interlude in E-Flat Minor,” a softer, dreamily atmospheric interlude. Returning to the band’s classic sounds, “Flesh and Bones” is another concentrate of pure rock power, offered with the band’s personal touch. Well constructed guitar riffs, an accelerated rhythm section and another killer bassline, developing the song with continuous tempo changes. The vocals offer another excellent test, alternating perfectly with the instrumental parts, and then offering a dark and occult section in the middle of the song. Occult Rock or proto-Doom, the common thread of this track is the quality expressed by the band, of absolute value, with a fine guitar solo in the second half. “The Fool” has a more Hard Rock imprint with references to 70s bands, bringing the atmospheres of the past into a modern and personal context. The drum work is very interesting, full of tempo changes, the bass line is deep and load-bearing, while the guitar offers well-constructed and very intense riffs and solo inserts. The vocalist once again shows his ductility, incisive in the interpretation of the lyrics. The band’s darkest and most occult atmospheres permeate “Sorrow,” where the vocals are a perfect interpretation of the lyrics. The heavy guitar riffs and the evolution of the song’s central theme between continuous tempo changes with more elaborate openings and accelerations make this track a concentrate of technique and power. The album termian with “Bluesman (Sunrise Cocaine),” where the band explores Blues Rock sounds, offering them with their own personal imprinting. The blend of Heavy Rock and Blues Rock is perfect and enhances the band’s technique, including solo interventions, tempo changes and fine bass work. The guitar is as sharp as a blade, while in the sung parts more Blues traits characterise the sound. an excellent conclusion that leaves us wanting to listen to this work again and again. The band offers an energetic and engaging record, full of quality ideas and insights, showing that they have reached a compositional maturity of the highest level. The atmospheres of classic heavy rock are brought into a modern, fresh and distinctly personal context. A recommended listen for all lovers of Heavy Rock sounds with forays into Psychedelia and Blues traits. The guitar is the protagonist, as well as the vocals, a true added value to the band’s sund, while the rhythm sections are granitic and elaborate. Rock is alive and this band is the proof, one of the best releases heard so far in 2024.
Tracklist
01. Intro (00:42)
02. Malice (04:28)
03. Tumbling Through the Dark (02:37)
04. Faustian Bargain (05:25)
05. Interlude in E-Flat Minor (03:09)
06. Flesh and Bones (04:24)
07. The Fool (03:50)
08. Sorrow (03:01)
09. Bluesman (Sunrise Cocaine) (04:48)
Lineup
Vanessa San Martin / Vocals
Danick Cournoyer / Bass
Alec Sundara Marceau / Guitar
Eliot Sirois / Drums
