Soulpreacher
Sonic Witchcraft

April 2001
Released: 2000, Man`s Ruin
Rating: 3.0/5
Reviewer: Waspman

Wow, now I’m depressed. Soulpreacher are about as doomy a band as there can possibly be, slower and more crushing than anything that Cathedral could dream up these days. Now relax all you Cathedral fans, I didn’t say that they were better, now did I? In fact, they’re not, but they are in the same ballpark.



As you may have guessed, Soulpreacher’s music is s-l-o-w, sludgy and very fuzzy doom metal. Right from that description you should know if SONIC WITCHCRAFT is something that you want to invest in, but just because I get paid for this, I’ll finish the review. Wait a minute! I’m NOT getting paid for this...oh well; I’ll do it anyway.



The disc opens with the 10+ minute “Blues for a Blackened World” which immediately sets the stage for what is to come: swamp-toned guitars riffing away while the vocalist (no band info was provided) howls out supernatural tales of pain. This is truly an aural form of punishment. Seriously, if you’ve got kids that misbehave, just threaten to force them to listen to this CD three times in a row, nonstop. I guarantee they’ll stop whatever it is they’re doing.



Elsewhere, “Empty and Hollow” is quite possibly the best song that the members of Black Sabbath and Kyuss never wrote, and it would sound right at home on VOL.4. This song is very catchy. The rest of the album sort of follows this blueprint until returning to the land of epics for the album closing three-part “Alabaster”. Overall, this disc can be a bit too much to handle all at once, what with all of the hate-filled doom going on, but fans of the genre had best check these guys out.



Email: mansruin@sirius.com