Witche's Brew (their apostrophe, not mine) came together in 2008 when Mirko Zonca (pioneer of psychedelic grunge with Nofuzz) and Mirko Bosco (Disper-Azione) got together to create something that was both new and very retro in sound. They wanted to bring the 70’s sound to life, but with a hard modern edge. They started life with a session drummer and have been through a few since then, but the current sticksman is Frankie Brando, and although they list themselves as a power trio they do also say that their current lead singer is Ricky DalPane (Buttered Bacon Biscuits – apparently). But for this album they have also brought in loads of guests in the form of Nik Turner (Hawkwind), Steve Sylvester (Death SS and Sancta Sanctorum), Martin Grice (Delirium), Paolo Apollo Negri (Wicked Minds, Link Quartet) and J.C. Cinel (ex Wicked Mind).
The result is something that is of the present day, but is also very much in the past. Here is a band that is bringing together Sabbath and Black Widow with the heaviness of Pentagram and the feeling very much of the early 70’s. There are also a few tinges of Heep here and there, but I wasn’t expecting them to go into “Gypsy” towards the end of “What’d You Want From Me” as it isn’t credited anywhere that I have seen. Then in the next song “Children of the Sun” there are some great Hawkwind steals to boot. So, they have laid their influences out there for everyone to see and have then created an album that has some mighty slabs of doom/stoner rock with loads of early Seventies all over it. It is an incredibly heavy album, yet somehow there is a lightness within it and an emotional overview that ensures that it remains vibrant and interesting without getting too over the top.
All in all this is an interesting album that is well worth discovering. To find out more about this 2012 album and their other releases visit http://witchesbrew.altervista.org/ .
