Last night as I was falling asleep I started to consider my most anticipated records of 2015. One of the first to come to mind was Four Phantoms, so it was somewhat poetic that I would wake up to find the promo copy of Four Phantoms winking at me from my inbox. Rarely have I been simply blown away by a record as I have with this release, and sure, I expected it, this is a band I've loved since I was about 15 years old - but now Bell Witch have proved beyond a shadow of a doub that they are the true masters of doom.
From the initial overwhelming crush of Suffocation, A Burial I - Awoken (Breathing Teeth) you know that this album is a force to be reckoned with. The demonic cries and bellowing growls that define this album are only accentuated by a crushing bottom end featuring tone so good it could make a grown man cry. The lyrics too are a large part of what makes Four Phantoms so overwhelming. Though fairly sparsely placed - the band prefers to let the soundscapes speak for themselves - couplets like "The violence of being/The waves I'm breathing" convey a sense of esoterica and mysticism that make the music even more fascinating.
Bell Withc are oftentimes suffocatingly heavy, and this record has definitely moved me to tears. It is the product of a band who have - since their demo tape came out in 2011 - been able to break boundaries. This is a truly monolothic statement, balancing crushing towers of sound with more ethereal moments for an all encompassing sonic experience. Four Phantoms provides some very strong evidence that Bell Witch is going to be the best doom metal band of 2015 - watch out for them, your doom is soon to follow.
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https://www.facebook.com/BellWitchDoom?fref=ts
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