One of the first possible thoughts one can arrive at upon a spin of
Vine of Souls and its first track, "Mordranicht," is that its spoken word opening by head witch Sam Skraeling is heavily reminiscent of "Oh Bondage (Up Yours)." The actual body of music on the album is heavy metal, but "feminist Wiccan metal" might be a better descriptor, as witchcraft and the occult play heavily in the imagery of the band and its tunes. It's a consistent look, at least. Between the album art, song titles, and lyrics, these men (and one woman) have a sense of art direction informed by early
Black Sabbath, certain
Led Zeppelin songs, a handful of issues of the Sandman and Hellblazer comic books, and innumerable tarot decks. Dark thoughts pervade, with tracks emanating from the previously listed elements among tinges both of the psychedelic (dig the opening to "Ayahuasca") and the paranoid ("Eye in the Sky"). Musically, the band is at its best when riffing; the tracks cruise along with a good pace and power. Skraeling's vocals have the dark, siren/trance-like quality of vintage
Ozzy. The album is full of leftist messages popping up here and there, sometimes to good effect ("Change," "Mother Earth"), sometimes not ("Don't Go"). Problems occur with the other bits. Some of the downtempo "funkier jams" don't work quite so well, and "Don't Go" conjures up the worst aftereffects of
Rage Against the Machine and their lesser-talented ilk. Sticking with the dark metal -- which fortunately never approaches the aggro prevalent in most post-'90s metal -- results in a good loud rock album. Toning back on some of the "Lookee us! We're bloody witches, dammit!" sense would've been a gain, but one could only hope for that on a later record. ~ Jeremy Salmon