Witchden – Deus Nihil

Hailing from my home state here in the United States, the I’m state of Minnesota, Witchden started out their life in the year 2010 and have been expanding upon and decimating the Sludge genre ever since. When I first heard their debut album, 2012’s “Consulting the Bones” I was blown away. For their handling of the Sludge genre was somewhat unique yet comfortingly familiar and Damn it was catchy enough to be stuck in my head and in my car’s stereo for a few months. Hell, the cd is actually still on my kitchen table as we speak, for it has been in my heavy rotation of music ever since.

Now it is time for “Deus Nihil” to take over the spot held by “Consulting the Bones” in my rotation. For with this new album, Witchden have taken what I loved on their debut and just taken it up another whole level. This is modern Sludge, the type of Sludge that takes a little bit of this and a little bit of that and blends it all together in a vicious and catchy package. It reminds me of back in the days of what was called Relapse Metal, where bands like early Mastodon, Burnt By The Sun, Anodyne and the like took influence from everything around and added to their form of Sludge.

Honestly, this album is outstanding all around. Everything, the artwork, the songwriting, the performances, the sequence of the tracks, the mix and production, everything. It is one of those albums that anyone who is into metal, period, can enjoy on one level or another and if you are anything like me, you will love it. My final thought here is something I questioned while listening to “Deus Nihil” in the car with my wife; “Why is it that Lamb Of God is so popular and praised while there are better and just as accessible bands out there like Witchden here?”  (Ben Schultz)