SEUM - TEMPLE OF THE FUZZ WITCH "Conjuring" 2025

BLACK THRONE Productions is a Toronto/CANADA-based label driven by a love of metal, heavy psych and doom.
Scheduled for release on February 21, 2025, the split release “Conjuring” brings together two bands, one being SEUM from Montreal - Quebec/CANADA and the other, TEMPLE OF THE FUZZ WITCH from Detroit, Michigan/USA.
While SEUM defines itself as a “Doom ‘n’ Bass” trio (yes, their particularity is that there is no guitar at all, only bass, drums and vocals), TEMPLE OF THE FUZZ WITCH describes itself as Blackened Doom Metal... Either way, we know where we stand... and there's nothing happy about it...
Both bands' music is sultry, dark, heavy, slow and desperate...
SEUM has that sludge vibe (IRON MONKEY, EYEHATEGOD come to mind, of course), that DIY, urban, gritty punk feel. The vocals are flayed, screamed.... the sound is like an emery cloth that makes your ears bleed.
A few accelerations here and there, but the dominant mid-tempo crushes you in due form. No room for melody or subtlety, no, this is a time for urgency. These guys have a visceral need to expel life's traumas, whether past (disability in “Dead Ear”, addiction in “Éfrit”) or present (aging in “Problems”). Music is definitely an escape as far as they're concerned - it doesn't cheat, it comes straight from the gut.
TEMPLE OF THE FUZZ WITCH may sound like a traditional DOOM band, with the opening track “Effigy” - very classic with its slow riff and clear vocals - but it soon becomes clear that the band is much more than that... It speeds up violently, counterbalances with leaden riffs and the vocals become much more menacing... we're in for a riffing rampage - a brain-destroying rampage... a bit of Black here, a bit of Sludge there (if not more so in the singing style, in fact).... They know how to add just the right touch to make the music interesting and captivating. More cleanly produced than SEUM's tracks, TEMPLE OF THE FUZZ WITCH's are no less interesting. The musical approach is quite different, but just as interesting, and I think dark & obscure DOOM fans will appreciate them too.
I'll sum it all up by saying that this production deserves your full attention if you're looking for dark, obscure music that's not for everyone. The most demanding fans of the style will know what they're getting !