Review Summary: Another entry in the text of the occult
In recent years it's been increasingly hard to come by a good ol' rock-n-roll band. A band with songs catchy enough to be stuck in one's head for days yet still riff with indubitable heaviness. A band that makes good enough music to headbang to at the office while getting stared at awkwardly by one's cohorts. Thankfully, this is no longer a concern, for now we have Doctor Smoke, an Ohio band that draws influence from doom metal, progressive rock, stoner rock, occult rock, and 70's rock. At its core however, Doctor Smoke is very much a rock-n-roll band, and their debut 'The Witching Hour' is very much worthy of that status.
One of the first things noticed about this album is the production values. These guys are not signed to any major label, and had to actually fund this through a KickStarter. However, one would not be able to notice that, as there is such a clarity to the tracks themselves that this might as well have been recorded in a professional studio, which in itself is worth its own praise. Another thing noticed when listening to 'The Witching Hour' is that lead vocalist Matt Tluchowski has an uncanny resemblance to Ozzy Osbourne, right down to the creepy vibes that radiate from each song. And given the strong blues influences of each song, similar to early Black Sabbath's sound, that resemblance is probably no coincidence.
The lyrics to this can often get frighteningly dark, with many of the lyrics touching on uncomfortable subjects like satanism, murder, alcoholism, loneliness, and insanity, such as on the track "Evil Man":
"I wondered what it'd be like to take away a life
To look a man in the eyes as his beating heart dies
Would I feel Better or would I be lonesome still?
These are the thoughts that drove me to kill"
This leads me to one of the most surprising aspects of "The Witching Hour", even with its dark sinister tone, combined with the genres involved in making this(doom metal, sludge metal, occult rock), this album proves to be quite accessible. The upbeat tempo of the riffs, the heavy blues influences, give the album a very welcoming sound, allowing any average shuck to blast this on his stereo and headbang to the pounding drums of "The Toll", or practice their air guitar skills with the solo at the end of "Faces in the Fog".
That isn't to say this album isn't extremely heavy, on the contrary, songs like "From Hell" show the band's potential for monsterous riffs, yet at the same, the song is so groovy that it probably won't turn anyone off. Earlier in this review I gave a comparison of Doctor Smoke to the early heavy blues riffs of Black Sabbath, in no song is this comparison more apt than in "The Seeker", a slow jam with the fuzz pedals pushed to the max and the guitars tuned to the deepest notes possible. Nothing screams 'classic stoner rock' quite like this track, allowing for the max heaviness and at the same time allow the listener to chill out, and maybe smoke a joint or two with a couple buddies while this song plays in the background, after all. Lyrics like these pretty much signify the perfect stoner jam:
in his hand he holds the key
to open gateways in his mind
wizard's sceptor smokes and steams
slowly dissolving space and time
break through to the aether
ascended mind gives way
beheld to the seeker
ancient cosmic mysteries
Call it doom metal, occult rock, progressive rock, stoner rock, sludge metal, blues metal, or whatever else you deem fit. At its core however, 'The Witching Hour' is simply a great tribute to good ol' rock-n-roll. Its dark lyrics should satisfy the moodier audiences, while the bountiful riffs should please the hard rock fans. "The Witching Hour" is basically a record suited for anyone who likes rock-music.
