Witche's Brew Against the Grain Review by Gary Hill
I have to say that I really don't like the vocals on this album. Beyond that, though, the sound is quite cool. I'd say that this is probably most closely tied to NWOBHM, but there is a lot more here. We get some punk, modern metal, old school hard rock and psychedelia all built into this thing. At times the jamming seems to go on a bit too long, but overall, ignoring those vocals, this just a great slab of cool old school metallic stuff.
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Track by Track Review
Lord Depression
This screaming hot rocker is along the lines of raw metal merged with something like Motorhead meets Cream.
Bad Motor Scooter Here we get a cover of the old Montrose tune. This is in somewhat the same vein, but a bit rawer. It's a cool rocker. The closing section seems to go on a bit long.
Devil's Bridge There is almost a raw metal vibe here. This is fierce, but a bit noisy. Again, the jam at the end of the tune seems to go on a bit long.
Show Me The Way I like the jam that starts this quite a bit. It's more of an old school psychedelic rock thing with some modern heavy fuzzed out sound in the mix. They take it out to the same kind of hard rocking sound from there with more of a psychedelic vibe than we have heard on the rest. The chorus lands in the vicinity of metal. There is a bit of parental advisory on this tune.
No Sweat This screaming hot tune is definitely part psychedelic rock and part metal. It's noisy and has a couple changes that are cool. The energy and driving fire are what make this piece work as well as it does,.
Madness Here's another leaning toward metal. Its also not far removed from some of the stuff Motorhead has done over the years. Still, I suppose more than anything else, this is along the lines of NWOBHM.
Tattoo This has more of a modern metal vibe. It still has some of that raw old school sound, though. One of the most effective cuts here, this is solid.
The Farmer Angry and fierce, this is part metal, part punk and all stomping. The jam later in the track is a real powerhouse.
Can You Dig It Bluesy, trippy stuff start this. The sounds of intense winds rise up from there. Then they launch into a rubbery kind of old school metal jam.
