ALL HAIL THE WIZARD

"Stone Magnet" – 4:54
"Mourning Prayer" – 5:07
"Mountains of Mars" – 3:46
"Behemoth" – 8:55
"Devil's Bride" – 6:31
"Black Butterfly" – 8:19
"Electric Wizard" – 9:52
"Wooden Pipe" – 0:08

Bonus songs on 2006 reissue:

"Illimitable Nebulie" (Demo) – 4:52
"Mourning Prayer, Part 1" (Demo) – 5:19

Some Doom-heads have disagreed with me, but i think this is one of Electric Wizard's best albums. Eighth notes never sounded so heavy (see "Mourning Prayer," "Devil's Bride," "Black Butterfly), and lyrics never sounded so stoned. The album opener ("Stone Magnet") and closer ("Electric Wizard") are utterly brilliant, and will sit among the greatest stonerrock hymns of all time as uniquely Electric Wizard (a lot of the genre borrows heavily from itself). I hear complaints from friends about the drumming on this recording. I'd agree it lacks the slipperiness and spark of most stoner records, but it doesn't hold this work back. After recording this record, it's rumored that members of the band were busted for drugs, assaulting a cop and robbery (on separate occasions). One member of the band suffered a collapsed eardrum on stage.

9.5/10

"Return Trip" – 10:03
"Wizard In Black" – 8:14 (8:02 on 2CD)
"Doom-Mantia" – 8:49
"Ivixor B / Phase Inducer" – 8:48
"Son of Nothing" – 6:44 (6:32 on 2CD)
"Solarian 13" – 8:00
"Demon Lung" - 5:53
"Return To The Son Of Nothingness" - 6:38

There are few albums ever released that come close to this kind of heaviness. Like a razor hacking through pure audio sludge. The opening track, Return Trip, will blow you away and is easily the best track off the entire album. Featuring lyrics about burning the entire world and killing everyone (literally!) and coupled with some of the heaviest riffs ever chugged out of a guitar. Amazing. Another standout track is the ultra bizzare "Ivixor B / Phase Inducer" which is weird, atmospheric and awesome. Truth be told, all these songs are great and that's really all that needs to be said. Regarded by a lot of people as their finest work.Essential.

10/10

"Vinum Sabbathi" – 3:06
"Funeralopolis" – 8:43
"Weird Tales" – 15:04


I. "Electric Frost"

II. "Golgotha"

III. "Altar of Melektaus"

"Barbarian" – 6:29
"I, the Witchfinder" – 11:04
"The Hills Have Eyes" – 0:46
"We Hate You" – 5:08
"Dopethrone" – 20:48
"Mind Transferral" – 14:54 (reissues only)

Their sickest and most twisted album,Dopethrone continues in the tradition of being as heavy as possible and slowly grinding out some of the most mind-bending riffs ever recorded.This is one intense album to listen and maybe the most inaccessible album they have ever done.There some interesting soundbites too like the one in Vinum Sabbathi" and "Mind Transferral" which comes from a episode of 20/20 discussing Satanism.Another essential release. .

10/10

...A Chosen Few" – 6:35
"We, the Undead" – 4:29
"Master of Alchemy" – 9:23


I. "House of Whipcord"

II. "The Black Drug"

"The Outsider" – 9:18
"Night of the Shape" – 4:02
"Priestess of Mars" – 10:02
"Mother of Serpents" – 5:08

It was the last release from the seminal line-up of Jus Oborn, Mark Greening and Tim Bagshaw, the trio that created the bands best albums, "Come My Fanatics" and "Dopethrone". Divisions were reported during the making of this album, and unfortunately this came through on record. "Let Us Prey" is a bit hit and miss throughout, mostly due to some unexpected and out of place experimentation. "We, The Undead" sees the band surging into relatively lightning paced punk rock, and "Night of the Shape" surprises with some moody trip-hop dirge. Electric Wizard had just perfected their super-heavy, brand of 70s doom, and these experiments were not only unnecessary, but quite out of their field. The band sounds messy and confused playing punk, and as for trip-hop...well...just a weird choice. Frustratingly, amidst the unsuccessful experimentation is some bludgeoning classic EW. Opener "A Chosen Few" blasts in with a typically brutal lead riff, and you wouldn't be stupid to think another "Dopethrone" is on the way. One of my all-time favourite EW tracks is the monumental "Master of Alchemy" piece. Purely instrumental, the song swaggers through two of Oborn's best ever riffs, psychedelic atmospherics and wailing solos. There's a sublime doom groove throughout both sections, making the clutter before it become even more frustrating. "The Outsider" and "Priestess of Mars" are both decent tracks, not brilliant but staple EW and enjoyable, and they keep a small level of consistency going.

8/10

"Eko Eko Azarak" – 10:48


I. "Invocation"

II. "Ritual"

"We Live" – 7:46
"Flower of Evil (a.k.a. Malfiore)" – 7:29
"Another Perfect Day?" – 8:03
"The Sun Has Turned to Black" – 6:25
"Saturn's Children" – 15:08

From the flat out spooky opening chords of "Eko Eko Azarak," this CD seems to come out of the speakers and flood the room with a thick, dark, smoky presence that is almost tangible. On top of this, the songs stick in your head for days; a neat trick for doom/stoner metal, which often tends toward sameness. This is advertised as "Electric Wizard Mark II" on the liner notes and indeed it is; as heretical as it may be to say this, I find Mk II to be a more focused band with better musicians than Mark I. There, I said it. I found their earlier releases somewhat monochromatic at times, but with the addition of Liz Buckingham on second guitar there's a lot more going on in terms of the density and the sinister way the instruments intertwine around each other like giant cosmic serpents mating in the void. (Yeah, I said that and I mean it, deal with it.) The flow and fury of this is easy to get caught up in and I find it hard if not impossible to extricate myself from it. The most underrated Electric Wizard album.

9.5/10

"Witchcult Today" – 7:54
"Dunwich" – 5:34
"Satanic Rites of Drugula" – 6:06
"Raptus" – 2:13
"The Chosen Few" – 8:19
"Torquemada '71" – 6:42
"Black Magic Rituals & Perversions" – 11:01


I. "Frisson Des Vampires"

II. "Zora"

"Saturnine" – 11:04
"Raptus Reprise" – 2:21 (Japanese release only)

Simply put: evil oozes from the speakers when you put this on and the Elder Gods are invoked. The perfect soundtrack to a horror movie that does not yet exist. Indisputably heavy, the new Electric Wizard Mark II is more focused and tighter than Mark I ever was but are the songs as good,almost but not quiet. Electric Wizard has shown in the past not only can doom/stoner metal be unbelievably heavy, but can also contain hooks that sink into your brain. This album takes a few more spins to get into than the other EW albums but it grows on you like fungus.The 70s-style production, atmosphere and art work complete the entire trip, and it's a trip that's worth taking over and over. Absorbing and addictive like some strange drug, this deserves to be blasted through large speakers at a volume big enough to terrify the neighbors.

9/10