That in these bizarre times—when an orange talking puppet has the United States in its grip and is picking fights with just about every country around it—a collaboration between the US and Canada is still possible is proven by the EP from Detroit’s Temple of the Fuzz Witch and Montreal’s Seum.
Temple of the Fuzz Witch are known for their blend of heavy Doom with Black Metal, while Seum is recognized for their intense Sludge, completely forgoing the role of a guitarist.
Each band contributes three tracks, with one from each having previously been released as a single. All of this comes wrapped in a cover featuring an Ouija board design.
The track Effigy was previously released as a single by Temple of the Fuzz Witch—heavy doom with a stoner vibe that suddenly triples in speed, revealing the band’s Black Metal side.
With Eternal Lamentation, the Blackened Doom combo resurfaces, though the Doom element is the most dominant, all wrapped in a slightly off-tune-sounding guitar.
A thick fuzz bass opens the third and final track, Foul of Shades, which leans more towards doom than black metal, though the vocals are undeniably hellish. With an average length of 4:30 minutes, these are relatively short tracks for Doom Metal, which definitely stands out.
Seum kicks things off with Dead Ear—a gentle breeze, a delicate bassline, but it quickly erupts into a wall of sound. Heavy, bass-driven Sludge, with no guitar in sight. Then the tempo picks up, and vocalist Gaspard Carrey tears his throat open—what a voice.
With Problems, they take a more experimental approach, incorporating samples alongside the heavy bass. The groove has a distinctly Hardcore feel.
The third and final track, Éfrit, was previously released as a single by Seum. This one has a killer groove—driving and energetic, yet at the same time, it smashes your face straight into the mud.
With Conjuring, both bands showcase exactly what they’re capable of. It’s definitely more for Doom fans, but if you like your music heavy and crushing, this is a solid release to check out.
80/100
Temple of the Fuzz Witch:
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Seum:
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