Sale!

The Wizar’d: Infernal Wizardry CD

6,90 

Out of stock

Description

If there ever was a mystery band, its The Wizar’d from Tasmania, Australia. It is close to impossible to find out any informative information about the band, the band members don’t use their real names and they come from one of the most obscure places on earth which is Tasmania. Sorry to all those that live there but face it, its no man’s land. I have been there many times and to think a band like this lives and plays this music there is amazing. They must scare the crap out of people down there as this state of Australia is not exactly known for its love of heavy music. I have had this album for about a year after a friend sent me a downloaded version of the album but i finally got the real CD so i thought its about time they got a review for it. They have a complete D.I.Y approach to their music and seem to love being as underground as possible so maybe that is why info, especially interviews is so hard to come by. They have a garage Doom approach and the vocals are not exactly classy, in fact they have a snotty punk sound but that adds to the charm and character of the songs. This is mostly slow, traditional doom with pretty shitty production to be honest but somehow it seems to suit them just fine. Not many bands can release something that sounds so bad production wise but make it sound like such a tasty piece of Doom. The band takes the influences of early Cathedral, Reverend Bizarre and mix it up with early 80’s British Metal sounds, at times the music sounds like a Doom version of Cirith Ungol but with punky vocals.

The album starts with “Horned Lord” and the Sabbathian riffs are right there, the album only gets better though. Second cut, “Witchwither” really highlights the singer’s warbling vocals and it nearly kills the track at times but this is some classic Doom with killer riffs. The singer goes by the name of “Ol’ Rusty Vintage Wizard Master”, that had me cracking up when i first read it but even though this dude isn’t very well versed in the craft of singing, his voice has a unique charm about it. The CD really starts to deliver the goods by the third track “Infernal Wizardry”, it begins with a b-movie incantation over feedback before it erupts into a orgy of what sounds like drunken Doom kids just having fun. The singer does his best angered, tormented vocals and despite the average production, it is still delivered with some real power. “Depressive Holiday” has the vocalist muttering in the most monotone voice you can imagine but the music delivers on every level. From this point on, a more of a Electric Wizard feeling begins to emerge in some of the parts. This track crawls along for nearly 10 minutes but holds your attention right to the end. “Crushing Gothic Slime” is perhaps the most throw-away track on the album and beware of the fairly cheesy lyrics on this one. “Gloomwing” comes and goes without you even noticing its there or that is what happens to me where i hear it. “Plague Ship Of Doom” is another slow burner and is pretty solid but not a major highlight but the next and last track of the album kills. “The Megalomaniac” starts off classic riff and moves into a uptempo groove after a series of strange vocal and guitar effects. Where it goes after that is one hell of a warped journey into drug-induced Doom. At times like a few of the tracks on here it wanders but its riddled with some truly cool but weepy guitar leads, along with some very memorable Doom riffs that Iommi himself would have been happy recording.

The band is undoubtedly at their best when the riffs and grooves are old school , and the vocals are dirty. “Horned Lord”, “Infernal Wizardry” and “The Megalomaniac” definitely stand out as the album’s high-points. I know a lot of The Wizar’d’s material is rehashed for releases so how old or new are the songs, i have no idea. There was a real buzz about this band about a year ago with a video getting around of a entire live set, i think it still exists if you Google it. What has happen since then is a mystery but that sums up this band, that is a pity because this is a great album despite a couple of clunkers and poor production values. They used to have a Myspace but i can no longer find it, their official site is dead which leaves their record company’s Rusty Axe website and that tells you next to nothing about the band. Some bands love to be obscure, this band seems to live for it. The band is worthy of attention, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for them, that is if they are even still together. If you know anything, let me know as i haven’t the time to Google band names all day. Until then, let’s just call Infernal Wizardry a record well-suited for doom aficionado’s everywhere. 8.5/10