Wizard Rifle are back with the new album Here In The Deadlights with the promise to continue the demand of tearing down the conventional ways of music.
The album begins in an atmospheric way reminding post-metal soundscapes, but it ends to burst with a powerful and cacophonic rock with some sludge metal nuances. We also can find some punk influences, like in the track ‘Buzzsaw Babes’, but always with the sludge pinch in the song’s height.
The bass guitar has an important, robust and distorted presence helping the tracks to have a full and fat global sound, sometimes even accompanying the guitars. There are also two vocalists performing at the same time, but they don’t deviate a lot between each other – it’s like two in one. Once again, the punk guidance is very present in the vocal’s department.
In ‘Paul The Sky Tyrant’ we can attend to more traditional doom moments which go from the vocals themselves to the sluggish guitar riffs that are so characteristic of the genre. Still regarding this song, we even have time to witness a final passage delivered by twin guitars. In spite of the initial phase comprised by a weird and disturbing rock, the album evolves to a truly doom personality sometimes headed by a lead guitar without losing sight about the distorted and heavy background. Still, we will be pleased with a jazz oriented passage in the beginning of the track ‘Psychodynamo’ in which improvisation really seems to rule.
In the end, and after some listening, I believe it’s hard to label Wizard Riffle and in fact it’s always quite square when a band encloses itself in one single genre or style. Let’s say that Wizard Riffle are influenced by doom, sludge and rock, but always with an experimental vision and very unique of opened minds to the unknown that are commanded by the impulse of create the maximum discomfort towards the conventional.
7/10
DIOGO FERREIRA