Witch Mountain: Witch Mountain

I am beginning to really like Scion A/V.  They put out a bunch of free EPs from some damn good bands.  Over the last year and a half or so there have been terrific EPs from Immolation, Revocation, and Corrosion of Conformity.  This time I decided to check out Witch Mountain, a band I had only a passing familiarity with.

Witch Mountain is a traditional doom metal band from the U.S. featuring a female lead singer.  There is a large discussion over on the Metal Archives forum which is dissecting the merits of having a woman in a metal band.  A large consensus seems to be that many bands use it as a gimmick.  I really do not think that is the case with Witch Mountain as Uta Plotkin possesses an extremely impressive voice.  It is powerful and really gives the band a unique quality that makes them stand out from many of the other retro doom metal bands out there.  Seriously she is one of the most talented vocalists I have heard in a long time.

The music on the EP is somewhat lumbering traditional doom.  It is slow-paced but it allows Plotkin a chance to really shine.  The music is very impressive though and it does not get bogged down in its slow pace.  It remains interesting enough to keep the listener's attention even when Plotkin is not wailing away.

Plotkin is definitely the star here though.  Without her, the band probably would not merit much mention.  I am not suggesting that Witch Mountain uses the fact that they have a female lead singer to achieve any measure of notoriety.  It is not the fact that Plotkin is a woman that makes the band stand out.  It really is her voice.  She is that good.