Witch Mountain is a band I'd already heard a bit about, probably thanks to their super extensive tour schedule, full of dates, all around the world. Hailing from Portland, this doom metal quartet's new release, "Mobile of Angels", is a really heavy and eerie sounding release full of tension.

"Psycho Animundi" kicks things off. This one hits us with heavy riffs straight away, at a very slow and kind of stomping tempo that feels really powerful. This is quite a long song, but it doesn't linger and get stale; it moves from section to section, with massive riffs meeting trippy, clean sections that almost border on folk in some ways. The female vocals actually work quite well, something that is starting to take off in stoner/doom scene to good effect. They feel like a sort of 60s "hippie" meets modern day rock vocal.

"Can't Settle" has some cool, almost spoken word sections and feels a bit Bluesier, but later gets really heavy, with harsher vocals and more dissonant guitar work. This is another long one, with plenty of build-up and a really tense feel throughout.

"Your Corrupt Ways (Sour The Hymn)", is the longest track on the album, at just over 10 minutes long. Opening up with some nice clean tones and atmospheric drumming, this one's a master class in doom metal songwriting, with a forboding feel throughout, dramatic and melancholic riffs, and some great vocals, too.

Those three epic long tracks are countered by the next one, the title track, "Mobile Of Angels", which is about 3 minutes long! This track is really atmospheric, with lots of phased sounds and the like, and a distant sounding vocal. This one has lots of nice layered vocals throughout, with chanting and the like. It's a bit different from what you'd expect really.

The album closes with "The Shape Truth Takes", and is another lengthy one full of diverse moments. This one closes off the album with a really sad kind of sound, but at the same time, there is plenty of heaviness and energy, too.

The production is really good for this sort of sound. Raw guitars, pounding drums and deep bass come together to form a powerful, heavy sound with some nice atmosphere during clean sections too, nice roomy reverbs and the like. The vocals are done very well, sounding both distant and up front, when the music calls for either.

Overall, "Mobile of Angels" is a great release from WITCH MOUNTAIN that has a lot to offer, with a traditional doom metal sound, fronting some new ideas too. This is a band to keep an eye on, as despite their already fairly long career of over a decade, I think they have plenty left in them to offer us.<