Although "All Them Witches" are often called a Nashville band, guitarist Ben McLeod is the only one of the four members – McLeod, singer/bassist Charles Michael Parks Jr, drummer Robby Staebler and keyboard player Allan Van Cleave – who actually lives there. “We started here, but really we’re an American band,” says Parks. “Like Grand Funk.”
All Them Witches' debut album "Our Mother Electricity" was released in 2012 from Elektrohasch.
Soon after came their EP, "Extra Pleasant", which was recorded with two microphones directly to a 4 track cassette tape recorder. In 2013, the band's second studio album, "Lightning at the Door", was originally self-released via their own Bandcamp page, and later marketed by Tone Tree Music. "Lightning At The Door" was re-released in 2016 by their new label, New West Records, who they signed to in summer 2015. In February 2015, the band released the official live album "At The Garage".
Later in the year, they self-released their third studio album "Dying Surfer Meets His Maker", which was recorded in six days in a remote cabin in Tennessee. Their fourth studio album "Sleeping Through the War" was released in February 2017 on New West Records.[9] On May 3, 2018 it was announced that Jonathan Draper was replacing Allan Van Cleave on keyboards. In an interview at Download Festival 2018, Ben and Robby made clear that the change was permanent and that Allan had left the band. In October 2018, Parks announced that the band would continue as a three piece without Draper.
Despite the band’s name, don’t expect pentagrams, bloody sacrifices and the like.
The name was inspired by a book in the 1968 horror/thriller film Rosemary’s Baby. And in the same way that Black Sabbath attracted lunatic-fringe dwellers, All Them Witches occasionally find themselves meeting occult-ish fans.
“In Germany there was this super-tall, intense-looking guy waiting patiently to meet us after a show,” Parks says. “Finally, his turn came, and he said, in total seriousness: ‘Hi. When did you first meet Satan?’ And I said: ‘Um… I think you’ve got us wrong.’ He thought we were devil worshippers.”
OUR MOTHER ELECTRICITY 2012
[Curtis Oxley
An obvious first album from a band sounding like they are on their way to finding their footing. It starts out with the insta-classic "Heavy Like A Witch" a riff fueled rocking good time that is no doubt
the best song on the album. The two vocalists Rob and Ben do a great job sharing the mic (Ben doesn't sing much after this first album but, I liked his voice I think he should do back up more often) The 2nd track is a southern rock driven slide guitar jam it's good. After that it's what I would call three filler tracks nothing special with them and the lyrics are kinda just aimless. Then it's the 2nd masterpiece of the album Elk.Blood.Heart oh man this track is so good it's a must listen. Easy, is what I would consider another standout track a very dreamy guitar with some haunting vocals just a memorable song.
Overall a good debut but, obvious that they were trying to find their footing leading up to the masterpiece that is Lightning At The Door ]
[
The Obelisk
All Them Witches earn immediate distinction for being the first American band signed to German heavy psych purveyors Elektrohasch Schallplatten. Endorsement from the label of Colour Haze
guitarist/vocalist Stefan Koglek, which has released albums from My Sleeping Karma, Sungrazer, Rotor, Been Obscene and The Machine – essentially casting the blueprint by which a goodly portion of the up and coming European scene is built – goes a long way in my book, and the feat is even more impressive when one considers that the Nashville four-piece’s debut full-length, Our Mother Electricity (produced by the band with Andy Putnam), sounds so distinctly American. They’re not the first to use the wordplay, but in calling their approach “psychedelta rock,” neither are All Them Witches inaccurate.
Swampy blues is definitely a major element in what they do, but along with that and the heavy psych aspect to their sound, there’s also a dynamic sense
of Americana in the songwriting, taking hold either in the twang of centerpiece “Elk Blood Heart” or the countrified moaning and Skynyrd solo bursting out of closer “Right Hand.” Our Mother Electricity was originally released by the band last summer, and along with the bonus cut, the Elektrohasch version also boasts new artwork courtesy of Mat Bethancourt (Cherry Choke, ex-Josiah) and a new mastering job. Among the album’s central appeals is the fact that it never actually seems at rest, and through the 45-minute duration, All Them Witches show little interest in telegraphing their next move. To wit, the shift
from eight-and-a-half-minute jam “Until it Unwinds” – the title perhaps referencing the tape on which the song was recorded – moving into the quiet, desert-hued soul of “Easy.” It’s just one of several complicated transitions All Them Witches pull off with what can only be called swagger, guitarist Ben McLeod and bassist Michael Parks trading vocal lines and frequently layering one voice on the other. On the album, the band is completed by drummer Robby Staebler and keyboardist Allan Van Cleave (Jason Staebler has since joined, presumably on second guitar), and in the natural, unfolding process of these tracks, no single contribution to the whole is inconsiderable. Vocals start opener “Heavy Like a Witch” sounding almost like a harmonica, and with a fuzzy guitar, the song is gradually introduced as a fitting opener for Our Mother Electricity in balancing heaviness and a rural sensibility.]
TRACKS
01. Heavy Like A Witch 5:48
02. The Urn 3:37
03. Bloodhounds 3:31
04. Guns 4:25
05. Elk.Blood.Heart 5:52
06. Until It Unwinds 8:33
07. Easy 4:11
08. Family Song For The Leaving 3:45
MUSICIANS
Bass, Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Michael Parks Jr.
Drums, Percussion – Robby Staebler
Guitar, Vocals – Ben McLeod
Keyboards [Keys] – Allan Van Cleave
Extended Play (EP) (2013, pre Lightning At the Door)
EXTRA PLEASANT 2013
TRACKS
01. Salesman
02. Robby's Jam
03. Sludger
04. Swallowed By The Sea
LIGHTNING AT THE DOOR 2013
[curtis oxley
What are the words to say? This album is a masterpiece of its era, simple as that. In this day of age when electronics and over production kills the vibe and the flow the music gets buried somewhere
between a computer. This album is raw, its loud, and most of all it's plain ol' good rock and roll. A modern Doom classic that will no doubt be played and remembered for years to come. Future adventurers who dwell into past albums one day will dig this treasure up and it will be a success the same way Neutral Milk Hotel wasn't known until a decade after their masterpiece.
The album flows so nicely the creepy introduction settings this mystical tone and soon as you hear the doomy riff come in you know you are in for some deep mysterious lyrics and beautiful sounds of music. The 2nd track: When God Comes Back is no doubt the highlight for me. The album has no bad tracks, no slow downs it's a pleasant ride through out. If you are in for a mysterious rockin' good time this is a must hear. Any fans of real music, any fans of rock I beg of you, you must listen to this future classic. ]
Nashville four-piece All Them Witches released their second album, Lightning at the Door, last November via Bandcamp. No promotion to speak of other than a posted link, no real advance warning, just there it was. The record’s 45 minutes became something of an underground sensation,
word of mouth and type of finger alike singing the praises of All Them Witches‘ original take on psychedelic blues, heavy riffing and stylized soul. Myself included. Lightning at the Door, which followed an earlier-2013 issue of their debut offering, Our Mother Electricity (review here), that made them the first American band to have their music released via Elektrohasch Schallplatten, was easily among last year’s highlight releases, and it warrants and deserves the physical pressing and proper “official” release the band has now given it.
It is a stunning work in its clarity of aesthetic and in its songcraft, resulting in eight memorable
tracks each distinguished by one part or another but all feeding into a complete, overarching whole that’s immersive, sprawling and the influence of which has already begun to be felt and, one suspects, will continue to be felt for some time. Reveling in both the individual contributions of guitarist Ben McLeod, bassist/vocalist Michael Parks, Jr., drummer Robby Staebler and Fender Rhodes specialist Allan Van Cleave and the chemistry between all of them, Lightning at the Door satisfies in its progressive sensibility and its atmosphere even as it sounds humble, raw and working directly in opposition to self-indulgent impulses. This sounds like hyperbole, but let it stand that whatever they do next — a 25-minute single-song jam called “Effervescent” (review here) has been issued since — to call it a landmark does not at this point feel like an overstatement.
That lack of pretense is one of Lightning at the Door‘s defining characteristics and one of its great strengths.
The album has already met with success in raising All Them Witches‘ profile — they’re beginning to make a statement as a touring act as well, having just finished a round of dates with Windhand — but more crucially, it signifies the individualized approach coming to the fore from these players and serves notice of their potential to continue to build on it, much as it builds on Our Mother Electricity. Again, whatever they do next, whatever changes are bound to take place, wherever they go and wherever they take their sound along the way, Lightning at the Door will remain a special moment, the urgency in the creation of which bleeds through its every measure.
[The Grim Tower
All Them Witches – Lightning At The Door – All Them Witches are a bunch of psych-rockers from Nashville and they really got me rolling with this sophomore record. It’s not metal, it’s not blaringly heavy and it’s certainly not extreme. But if you want to sit down and take a break from all that, then
All Them Witches make some great music to chill out to. “Funeral For A Great Drunken Bird 4:31” reminds me of a dirtier, but younger Pink Floyd with the spoken word vocals really pumping up the atmosphere created by the acid trip of instruments. Before you listen to this record any further, you might just want to take a hit of LSD, or some DMT if you can acquire it. “When God Comes Back 3:40” throws in the groove, making me think a little bit of King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man” while giving me an appreciation for the blues as well as some other modern nuances they’ve got playing here. Is that Queens Of The Stone Age or Kyuss? I can’t really tell, but it sounds great.
“The Marriage Of Coyote Woman 6:00” is another well done track, which brings in a lounge atmosphere, where I’m smelling cigarette smoke,
perfume and a variety of cologne. Everyone here looks like they’re waiting to go home with someone else, and they’re not going to go home until they do. “Swallowed By The Sea 8:37” sounds a bit ritualistic in the beginning, but then it just drives right into experimental structures that serve more as a “just shut up and listen to it” sort of atmosphere. It brings you back to the old days when we didn’t have to catalog every new sound and just soaked in the music as it was.
There really aren’t any lyrics to this one, but who needs them? If you’re not already in the astral plane by now, then you’re doing something wrong. “Charles William 5:54” brings back the blues, making for a good indie soundtrack to a flick that hasn’t come out yet. “The Death Of Coyote Woman 8:27” has a few sets of lyrics to them. but by the time you even get that far, you’re probably seeing the words appear in the air as you reach out to grab them. When you try to taste the words, you realize they have a texture kind of like a marshmallow or a tuft of cotton. But you keep eating, because the words taste so good. Then you try to go after the musical notes… red ones, blue ones, green ones, pink ones… You just keep stuffing them in your mouth.
The music itself becomes edible, as you soak it in through all of your senses. You can touch it, you can feel it, you can taste it, you can smell it – and it smells quite fragrant. But most of all, you can hear it.
As the trip comes to a close, you’re invited into a little folk ritual called “Romany Dagger 2:51” and every bit of it is a dance. Then “Mountain 6:28” comes in, with a much somber feeling that works as a cool down after such an adventurous listen as this one was. But the guys manage to flex one more muscle before the whole thing is said and done. Not too shabby!
Without saying much more, it’s safe to say that All Them Witches definitely hit the mark when it comes to good old trippy rock. Grab some mind-opening stuff and put this one on. It’s a journey that you’ll keep coming to for quite a while. I wonder if their previous record, Our Mother Electricity was this good. You might want to go grab that one too, because signs seem to point to yes.]
On May 3, 2018 it was announced that Jonathan Draper was replacing Allan Van Cleave on keyboards. In an interview at Download Festival 2018, Ben and Robby made clear that the change was permanent and that Allan had left the band. In October 2018, Parks announced that the band would continue as a three piece without Draper.
TRACKS
01. Funeral For A Great Drunken Bird 04:23
02. When God Comes Back 03:33
03. The Marriage Of Coyote Woman 05:4
04. Swallowed By The Sea 08:22
05. Charles William 05:45
06. The Death Of Coyote Woman 08:12
07. Romany Dagger 02:46
Thanks a lot!!!
ReplyDeleteCheers