With a name like WITCHTIT, you know the band has to have a sense of humor. The Raleigh, North Carolina-based group was formed when drummer Patrick Cotter and guitarist Daniel Brown - known mainly for acoustic/folk type work - started coming up with dissonant laden doom metal. Guitarist Nate Stokes joined up soon after and they started playing shows, sometimes with adhesive prosthetic boobs Brown ordered from a Chinese website. Believe it or not, the band was considering even sillier names such as "Spermicidal Doomcicle" or simply "Spermicidal" before deciding on WITCHTIT - a take on the old phrase "cold as a witch's tit". Obviously, it was a bit of a goof at first but they started to gain a following and soon got their butts in gear to try and properly fill out a line-up. They managed to put out a split with other local death/doom metal band ETIOLATED in 2017 but soon after brought on bassist Justin Hill as a permanent member. The biggest addition would be vocalist Reign as initially Brown was providing all vocal duties, adding a unique female-fronted twist not typical for doom metal.

WITCHTIT are now poising themselves to release their debut full-length "Intoxicating Lethargy" on March 12^th 2021. It is markedly different than what was presented on what was called the "Maywood Compilation" with ETIOLATED. The band isn't necessarily shying away from their older songs - occasionally pulling them out live with fresh changes - the band are determined to hone their sound, evolve and mature. Before lockdown prevented live concerts, the band shared the stage opening for bands such as EYEHATEGOD and CRO-MAGS. The band have recently released a video to go along with their first single "Crimson Tide" and just this past week released second single "Traveler" to the world. Unfortunately, little else can be done in a global pandemic to further the career of a band but it seems they have positioned themselves well to get the attention they deserve.

The addition of vocalist Reign may have made the band stand out among other doom metal bands but they also are a natural continuation of the blazing trails created by CANDLEMASS and CELTIC FROST. I made a recent discovery in a Finnish band called JESS AND THE ANCIENT ONES. While lead singer Jess may lean more towards a Janis Joplin, psychedelic feel, Reign dials the sinister and occult side of her delivery to full tilt will gusto and at times fragility while fronting WITCHTIT. Unfortunate name aside, their heavy, crunchy riffs are really captivating, catchy and highly hummable while cleaning your house, scaring small animals in quarantine. Personally, I think "Silver Tongue" should have been the lead single as it has the best earworm of a riff but also changes up the tempo several times between dredging and balls-to-the-wall heavy metal chug. Even "Intoxicating Lethargy" is a better showcase for the band than "Crimson Tide" with its ripping thrash-inspired solo. The only thing holding the record back from being perfect is the slight unevenness of the mix of all the instruments seems a little disjointed when the vocals kick in. Thankfully, the band is using this live show break and have already written much of their follow-up and that's wonderful to hear because the North Carolina doom scene has a new front-runner and their name is WITCHTIT.