Witchtanic Hellucinations

I had high hopes going into this album. I know there are plenty of fans of Acid Witch and this album is rated pretty highly. Honestly, Acid Witch has always been under my radar. When I found this album in a Disc Replay, I immediately bought it based on the artwork. I am familiar with their album art and it definitely stuck out to me this time. After sitting down and listening to this about 2-3 times, I can honestly say that I don't really get the appeal of their music. I mean, it's a pretty unique album, but to be rated as high as most people gave it is a bit perplexing.

Being a hardcore horror movie fan, a band theme based on witches seems like something I would enjoy. The lyrics and artwork are heavily involved in that fun subject matter. The problem is with the music itself as I think they come across a little too heavy handed. Now, I totally get having a band about witches sound like witches too, but the vocals are pretty wretched on this album. I get that it's supposed to sound the way it does and that's the major appeal of this band for many folks. I just honestly couldn't get into it. I'm trying to enjoy the hilarious lyrics with the music and the vocalist, Lasse Pyykkö (who I love in Hooded Menace btw), just sounds like he is rushing through the songs. There are times where he dials it back, like on the title track or "Cauldron Cave". Those songs are slower and appeal to my love of death doom. The way they emphasize the words "DOOM" is super fun. I don't get that same feeling when Lasse growls longer verses but it all sounds like one word. Their song writing is fun, but the appeal are the memorable lyrics and I can't remember them if he's trying too hard to sound like a witch through it.

Another aspect of this I enjoy are the general instrumentals. I said in another review that I love how raw Acid Witch is. Visiting some of their other albums, I found them never to be over produced. There is this distorted feeling to their instruments that is perfect for this sub-genre. The thing that annoys me is that there isn't much variation in the songs. There are 13 songs on here and most of them have the same riffs. The only way I can differentiate between the songs is the fun use of sampling here and there, like on "Swamp Spells". However, as much as I dig that song, it's way too long and you hear the chorus way too many times. Either songs are too short on this album or too long and I feel like both were done to pad the run time. The problem is that I really love the lyrics on here. As much as I loved the lyrics in "Witches Tits", I found the song too short. The sampling is great on "Swamp Spells", but it repeats itself way too much.

Overall, I mean, it's a decent and unique album. I legitimately felt like I was on an acid trip through a good part of this, but for the majority I was just kind of bored. The lack of variation in the riffs and the terrible over emphasis on sounding like a witch hurts this album more than anything. I did enjoy how under-produced it sounds and the lyrics are pretty hysterical. I just wish there was more of a balance between everything. Granted, it's their first album and I hope when I dig more into their disco they work things out a bit.

Album highlights: "Witchtanic Hellucinations", "Swamp Spells", "Cauldron Cave", and "Witches Tits"