Witch

The group Witch was born from a marriage of apparently contradictory influences. J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. renown and his long time friend Dave Sweetapple were interested in forming a hard rock band. They found willing and able conspirators in Kyle Thomasand Asa Irons, members New England avant-folk outfit Feathers. On their eponymous debut album, this line-up mounts a mighty sonic tumult that harkens back to classic heavy metal sound of early 70's outfits while still sounding modern in it's assault (and without falling into the ubiquitous "Stoner Rock" pigeonhole). Their now classic eponymous debut album was released on March 7th, 2006.

In Witch, Mascis returns to his first love, drums, playing with an unbridled passion that recalls his work with Deep Wound, his early 80's hardcore band. Meanwhile, Kyle sings and writes the group's supernatural-oriented lyrics, exploring the juxtapositions between age and youth, the paradox of meeting yourself, and the dilemma of falling asleep on a mountaintop and waking up a hundred years year.Asa weaves a dense texture of rhythm and lead guitar lines that ebb and flow over the basic monolithic, trundling riff-rock song structure. Dave adds additional weight to Witch's sound with massive, crunching bass lines, returning this his instrument of choice when he played in Newfoundland punk bands back in the early 80s.

Witch headed into the studio and recorded their now classic debut album for Tee Pee Records with engineer John Agnello, immediately following an extensive Dinosaur Jr. reunion tour. Agnello had already recorded Dinosaur Jr., J Mascis + The Fog, Early Man, Son Volt and Screaming Trees to name a few.

Witch returned with their second album, "Paralyzed" in 2008, delivering speedy heavy riffs, sinister vocals and raging backbeats that inject a punk-like tenacity into their brooding heavy core.