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Blog Categories Review Noisecult - Seraphic Wizard - Album Reviewed By Jenny Tate!

Noisecult - Seraphic Wizard - Album Reviewed By Jenny Tate! Thursday April 7 2022, 10:23 AM

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Noisecult - Seraphic Wizard - Album Reviewed By Jenny Tate ! Check it out here at this link: https://jennytate.wordpress.com/2022/04/03/noisecult-seraphic-wizard-album/

Launched on January 21st 2022, ‘Seraphic Wizard’ is the new album from Nashville, T.N. stoner rockers, Noisecult. Accompanied by the video, together with another video, for the track ‘Forever Nevermore’. ‘SW’ is 9 tracks of deliciously heavy, yet light-filled stoner doom rock, offering glimpses into magical other worlds.

Psycho Cerebral Manipulation – Wild intro, delivered with a stack of power. Very thrashy vocals. A lot of zest to this melody. Wacky vibes and a dark, doom foundation. Resonant of Sabbath’s ‘Sabotage’ era, with more energy. Good slide bass emphasis. Light cymbal touches and a fabulous riff solo, just past the mid-section. Strong power metal structures and a very tight arrangement and performance. Ending on a definitive riff and drum solo.

Forever Nevermore – Another heavy, but more Down-esque doom approach. A throatier vocal, this time, with plenty of gravel. It’s a looser arrangement, here, but very vivid. Lots of colourful riffage. Vocally, it’s much like a more metallic version of Nick Helm). Greater freestyle performance, utilising the wah and reverb well. Sudden, but impressively acute end.

Seraphic Wizard – A gradual emergence, showcased by a mystical instrumental. Booming drums and more pointed cymbal involvement. It’s very doom-soaked, with a rolling rhythmic beat. Those gravelly vocals enter, 1/4 in. Noticeable echo, well fitting. Lots of bass depth. That humming melody fits well with the vocal style. Drum hits growing more complex and intricate, featuring some carefully positioned cymbal hits. The collective track grows gradually more hypnotic, with some fabulous use of wobble. Again, the rhythms really make it. Such intriguingly magical lyrics. Quite Clutch-esque, both rhythmically and melodically. Another sudden end, with an audible build-up.

Season Of The Dark Witch – Bang! Only way to describe that intro). Right into a magnificent speed refrain. Clear lyrics, with darkness at their heart. This should feature as a soundtrack to ‘Hansel And Gretel Witchhunters’. Gravelly vocals, again, with a catchy chorus. Lots of energy and fizz to this. Intrigue within those lyrics and some fantastic riff wizardry, finding its place intuitively. It sustains the speed and the power, throughout. Closing on a well-placed cymbal hit.

War Eternal – A rowdy number, now. This has suddenly turned very Slayer-esque. Lots of drum emphasis. Imagine a cross between Slayer’s ‘War Ensemble’ and Exodus’s ‘War Is My Shepherd’, with a touch of Electric Wizard and you’re there. Riffs going wild, working perfectly with those rough vocals. A dramatic drum roll ending.

Feth Fiada – A beautifully executed steel string intro, with powerful atmospherics. Bringing it right down, to a relaxed, chilled out beat, before suddenly segueing, with consummate ease, into a highly charged speed segment, stacked with power. Plenty of slide in here, beautifully emphasised, in the steel string sections. An inventively and darkly delivered instrumental, fading out, silkily.

The Lords Of Eden – Bouncy bass intro, returning to that Clutch-esque essence, with a strong hint of Down. Deeply powerful vocals. More lyrical emphasis, here. Great riffage, again, going to town with the colourful expression. Very much a doom track. Lots of rhythmic drive. Vocals growing increasingly insistent and urgent. An easy beat to follow, till the cymbal based end.

Running Wild Running Free – Very ‘Wicker Man’-esque intro! Here, the speed element really comes to life. Really driven arrangement. Plenty of colour, especially in the speed riffage. The vocal grit’s sustained. Great cymbal hits, at the end, just placing a finer point on that sound.

Nachthexen – A slow, doom-filled track, from the start. Very much bass led, with some very fine, refined riffage. Beautiful riff breakdown, 1/4 in, before the grit and gravel kicks in, meeting the speed sections, head-on. This structure becomes very notably Maiden-esque, again. Interesting lyrics. Really going for it, with the speed riffs. Very involved arrangements, just a joy to listen to. Very much riff central. It just runs on its own, till the smooth fade-out.

Overall – A deeply satisfying listen, ‘SW’, as a whole, reveals a colourfully inventive and highly skilled band, with a lot of passion and drive. Sustaining the intrigue factor, throughout, the sound of ‘SW’ brims with diversity and never gets old. As derivative as it is, at points, those classic influences are what creates this magical album, through which, Noisecult’s unique touches are clear. Recommended listen.

10/10 ********** - Jenny Tate

Release Date: January 21, 2022

FFO: Black Sabbath, Motorhead, High on Fire, Orange Goblin

Location: Nashville, TN

Heavy rock band from Nashville, TN , often categorized as 70's stoner metal like Black Sabbath, Motorhead, High on Fire and Orange Goblin . Formed 2003 by guitarist Don Carr , rounded out by bassist Sean Kay , vocalist Mike Liffick , and drummer Patrick Nickell . They've performed with Corrosion of Conformity, Iron Maiden ’s Ex-vocalist Paul Di’Anno , FEAR, Trouble, Overkill and Mondo Generator among others. Noisecult is signed to Metal Assault Records out of Los Angeles .