When J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. and long-time friend Dave Sweetapple decided to form a hard rock band, they found conspirators Kyle Thomas and Asa Irons, from the local avant-folk outfit Feathers. Witch’s self-titled debut harkens back to the classic heavy metal sound of the 70s with the “all in” assault of modern rock and roll production and neatly side-steps “Stoner Rock” pigeonholes by packing more righteous riffs into a single jam than their contemporaries combined. This now classic eponymous debut released in 2006 features Mascis’ return to his first love, drums, with unbridled passion that recalls Deep Wound and his 80s hardcore roots. Kyle, a.k.a. King Tuff’s wails explore the juxtaposition inherent in a post-modern tribute to lost spirit. Sweetapple adds additional weight with massive, crunching bass lines and Graham Clise, guitar-slinger extraordinary from righteous punks Annihilation Time, Lecherous Gaze, Rot TV and now Stepmother, rounds out the line-up with his liquid fire leads and classic punk energy. Witch followed up their now classic debut with engineer John Agnello, already familiar with Mascis from producing Dinosaur Jr. and J Mascis + The Fog (as well as Cindy Lauper and Screaming Trees, to name a few) and “Paralyzed” was released in 2008, delivering even speedier riffs and raging backbeats that allowed the band’s punk and thrash roots to shine through.
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