Electric Wizard has never really been one of my favorite bands. I have certainly enjoyed them in small doses, and I still love the song "Dunwich", but I have been mostly reluctant to get deep into their prior catalog. Their psychedelic brand of stoner/doom metal simply does not speak to me as much, though I can definitely see the appeal others might see. I have really been turned off by portions of songs where the band simply meanders along with their slow, fuzzed-out riffs for several minutes at a time. But that is where this album mostly differs. Electric Wizard have tightened up their sound significantly and delivered their most cohesive record, at least of the ones I have heard.
The only real problem is that the band is unable to reach the heights of some of their earlier material. There is no "Dunwich" on this album. No song that stands head and shoulders above the rest as a true highlight on this album. And there are still a couple of throw-away tracks, including "The Reaper" which disappointed me greatly. I was hoping my dog would have a new theme song (yes, his name is technically The Reaper).
None of this is to suggest that this is a bad album, it just does not really grab attention. Electric Wizard will likely continue to be more of an occasional treat for me, which is mostly a shame, because I really want to like them more than I do. I love their mystique and image, the music just does not totally grab me.
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