Album Review: Margarita Witch Cult – Strung Out In Hell (Heavy Psych Sounds)

Birmingham heavy trio Margarita Witch Cult are back with their brand-new album, ‘Strung Out In Hell’. Out on July 18th through Heavy Psych Sounds.

Dark and doomy, groovy and weird, combining stoner/sludge with proto rock and metal, and then layering in some psychedelia for good measure. Margarita Witch Cult are a potent force in the UK scene, a force that comes with riffs. A ton of riffs.

It’s the riffs, alongside sinister groove, rocked up vocals, and doomy injections that makes Crawl Home to Your Coffin a remarkable start. Margarita Witch Cult showcase anthemic aspects to their sound here, even if it’s not always obvious elsewhere. Though that is an aspect of listening to the band that becomes quite enjoyable. Hitting those unexpected moments that get jammed in the mind and there’s plenty to be found as the album goes on.

Margarita Witch Cult effortlessly manage to sound equally sexy and sinister, while drawing from the world of NWOBHM with Scream Bloody Murder. Yes, you read that right. The chorus of this one could be a Judas Priest chorus, albeit more lo-fi, raw sounding.

A highlight of the first half of the record is Conquer Worm, a track oozing devilish vibes and delivering thick groove via methodical doom intensity. Although it’s almost matched by the frantic head banger that is Witches Candle, even if the two tracks couldn’t be more different. There are a lot of different parts to the Margarita Witch Cult sound and here you can experience a lot of them in delightful fashion. Although there’s no talking about variety without mentioning the cover track that comes at the middle point of the album.

It’s a cover of Billy Idol’s White Wedding and while your first instinct might be to groan at that, after all it’s a heavily covered track, Margarita Witch Cult really do make it their own. Simply by making it darker and noisier via layers of fuzzed up feedback. It’s very cool.

As is Mars Rover, Dig Your Way Out, and The Fool, where the psychedelic side of Margarita Witch Cult does start to make itself a bit prominent. Alongside plenty of rock and roll swagger, punchy heaviness, and playful groove. Here, the band start to flex a bit, showing just how they can rise out of the underground and grab the attention of a wider audience while still expressing an experimental side.

Come, get hooked by what came before, and sink into the layers of Who Put Bella In The Wych Elm, a powerful finale with dreamy melody and garish heaviness perfectly blended together. Its near seven-minute length flies by in a haze of fuzzy feedback, tripped out tones, and raw intensity. Capping off a thrilling listen that really does suggest that Margarita Witch Cult could be the next big thing within this world.

Margarita Witch Cult – Strung Out In Hell Track Listing:

1. Crawl Home To Your Coffin
2. Scream Bloody Murder
3. Conqueror Worm
4. Witches Candle
5. White Wedding
6. Mars Rover
7. Dig Your Way Out
8. The Fool
9. Who Put Bella In The Wych Elm

Links

Margarita Witch Cult links
Facebook⎜Bandcamp⎜Instagram⎜Spotify

Heavy Psych Sounds links
Website⎜Facebook⎜Bandcamp⎜Instagram⎜Youtube