Review Summary: All Them Witches sit comfortably in their doom metal-influenced phase
Throughout the years, All Them Witches have dabbled in multiple genres and styles; Americana, folk rock, stoner rock, grunge, progressive rock, jam-type songs and pretty much anything that can be integrated in their blues rock foundation. The metal aspect of the band, though, always seemed to be their most interesting side, at least in my opinion.
Without ever overdoing it, the band has always dabbled in metal. Their most acclaimed and popular release, Lighting at the Door, was also their heaviest and already displayed their doom metal tendencies, specifically “Swallowed by the Sea” and “When God Comes Back”. After departing that style for the next three releases, it wasn’t until Nothing As the Ideal (released in 2020) that the band leaned far more comfortably into their metal influences.
This partly continued with their compilation album Baker’s Dozen, which contains a series of singles released all through 2022 and culminating in early 2023. “Tigers Pit” could have easily been included in Nothing As The Ideal, and the massive doom metal song “Silver to Rust” seems to be the preamble to House of Mirrors. Even after the sudden exit of former drummer Robby Staebler, the band continues right where it left off with the beforementioned singles.
“Red Rocking Chair” is the perfect introductory song, as it displays the darker and heavier direction of the album. The song features a bass heavy middle portion featuring Ben McLeod trademark guitar shredding, making it impossible not to headbang to it. “Culling Line” follows suit, with a very explosive dynamic interplay towards the end of the song. Christian Powers, recruited from Fortune Child, displays his drumming chops on this one as he never overdoes his contribution but understands when to amp up the intensity.
“Starting Line” eases us with an acoustic intro into a prog metal groove (similar to Tool?), and it never lets up from there. The song manages to be very melodic and epic, while being pretty aggressive at the same time. It’s definitely one of my favorite cuts from the album. That’s not to say the album is start to finish aggressive. As per usual, the band does take moments to chill and tone down the aggression. “Aethernet” is one of those moments where they display their folk-rock tendencies, but even then, the song still contains a bass heavy backdrop and groove that will still sound somewhat heavy. A similar impression could be stated for “The Welterweight”, even though it sounds more like standard All Them Witches. “Go-Getter” sounds like a continuation of the ambient single “Fall Into Place” from the previous release.
The record does contain a couple moments of brief experimentation for the band. The first one, “Hold Up, Say What?”, sounds like a modern retreat to their stoner rock influenced debut album. The song is relatively faster paced, then sits in a slow ambient portion with strings, only to accelerate things back for closure (and does it with ease). “Turn On The Light” is a display on their songwriting abilities. This song is confidently very catchy and thus a bit out of character for the band, but then devolves into a slower and doomier outro.
So, this record is tight. It never overstays its welcome and keeps things interesting from beginning to end. Production is also great, as it doesn't sound overproduced or undercooked. It has just the right grit and rawness a record like this needs. If you dug their heavier releases of the past then this is for you, and even if this is your first encounter with All Them Witches, I personally think it still has the right balance of their styles regardless so just give it a listen.
