Temple Witch – Ocean Thousand, Mountain Thousand

Temple Witch
Ocean Thousand, Mountain Thousand
Label: Wormholedeath
Out: August 30^th, 2024
Playing time: 51:10

It all started during the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020 when guitarist and vocalist Andy Russell approached drummer Johno Benedik to re-record the drums for an older song. The project then became a new Stoner/Doom Metal band. That was the birth of Temple Witch from Akron (Ohio). Bassist Jacob Jones joined the band for the first studio recordings. The debut album “Hand In Hand With Chaos” was released in June 2021. In April 2023, Johno Benedik left the band and was replaced by Jacob Wherley. One month later, Temple Witch signed a record deal with Wormholedeath. The second album “Ocean Thousand, Mountain Thousand” will be released under this label in August.

“Ocean Thousand” starts with a powerful intro. The overall mood is very gloomy. The basses are booming. The vocals sound heavily pressed and are partly characterised by technical alienation. At the beginning of “Knew It Once” you can hear deep riffs and a bass line. The drums set the calm rhythm. Later, the tempo picks up a little. The next two songs are more than ten minutes long. “This Too Shall Pass” starts with a short intro in which the low notes dominate. The doomy riffs underpin the clear vocals this time. In the second half, clean guitars can be heard in places. This works towards the less gloomy sound towards the end. “Chase Tigers Away” is one minute longer than its predecessor. There are various sound gimmicks at the beginning. After that, deep bass and guitar lines dominate again. These eternally repeating sounds in the foreground are a basic feature of the Drone sound. The sound effects of “Other Things” sound spooky. This is contrasted by acoustic guitars. This takes a little of the gloom out of the whole thing. The vocals later on also sound almost cheerful. An acoustic Doom ballad. The gloom returns in “Motion”. Deep guitars at the beginning and drumming reminiscent of the ritual chants and dances of indigenous peoples. Deep, extremely distorted-sounding bass tones and wolf howls can be heard before the vocals start.

Extreme gloom is spread over almost the entire playing time of the album. The sound is characterised by extremely low tones, almost to the point of pain. In addition, the sound structures are repeated again and again. Opinions will certainly be divided on this. Some will find the album monotonous or boring. You have to listen carefully to hear the small but subtle nuances. Temple Witch do not offer light fare on “Ocean Thousand, Mountain Thousand”.

Temple Witch – Knew It Once: https://youtu.be/pjdZKnk_DZs?si=BbMcJ6sxa039ZaHt

Lineup:

Andy Russell – Guitar, Vocals
Jacob Jones – Bass
Jacob Wherley – Drums

Track list:

• Ocean Thousand
• Knew It Once
• This Too Shall Pass
• Chase Tigers Away
• Other Things
• Motion