Not everything from the pandemic was a negative, which feels weird to say considering the lives that were lost, which was the worst effect of the global disease. But people used that time for productive means as well as not being able to go places and being locked in your own domain can force the creative juices because what else were you going to do?

Aussie doom pounders Witchskull made good use of that time by tightening the gears of their own machine and working on their awesome new record “The Serpent Tide,” their fourth. This eight-track album is fiery from the start, unloading traditional doom, stoner tendencies, and some truly gritty terrain that makes your mind and body feel like it had a workout. The band—guitarist/vocalist Marcus De Pasquale, bassist Tony McMahon, drummer Joel Green—stitched dark storytelling and strange vibes into the music that sounds perfectly situated in 2023 but also acts as sort of a tour through doom’s history, adding tastes and flavors that pay homage and work to make the sub-genre a more devastating place.

“Tyrian Dawn” kicks off in the mud, bludgeoning and mashing, the singing adding an extra level of dirt. Guitars chug and char and add a meaty energy while the playing digs deep and exposes vulnerable flesh. “Obsidian Eyes” starts with the drums pacing before a molten swagger takes hold, the singing letting everything around it take over. The bass encircles and coils to strike as the riffs maul, the howls add insult to injury, and everything comes to a forceful end. “Sun Carver” is mystical and trancey when it enters, digging in with a breezier approach and the singing soaring. Doomy blasts then begin to truck and leave grease marks as the soloing scorches, charring flesh before the track ends in a blur. “Bornless Hollow” starts with drums lacing, molten heaviness covering everything in its path. Fuzzy bass rears its head, the singing bruises, and the guitars scuff, making for a bluesy, catchy final serving of power.

“The Serving Ritual” starts with the bass trampling and the playing rampaging, the singing spat out as the faster pace makes everything feel more urgent. Psychedelic heat warps your senses as electric power drags skulls, catching fire and filling lungs with soot. The title track heats up right away, the singing stretching as the grit accumulates dangerously. The vocals liquify as the psyche elements increase, pounding flesh and letting the humidity make things sticky and uninhabitable. “Misery’s Horse” gallops into the scene and instantly starts crushing skulls, the start/stop playing making your stomach juices slosh around. The guitars soar and sizzle as the playing thrashes even harder, melting bones and burying everything in a pile of discarded limbs. “Rune of Thorn” closes things with strong riffs, the singing wrenching, and a smearing pace making breathing nearly impossible. The bass tramples as the pace continues the beating, the band pushes its playing to the limits, and everything rides off into the darkness.

“The Serpent Tide” is a fiery, lava-spewing record from these Aussies, something you can put on and let wash over you, the power taking you to the limit. Witchskull made the best of the downtime from the past few years when we were all locked down to make themselves a fitter, punchier machine that cranks out energetic jolts that fry brains and inhibitions. This is a great, fun record that gets in, does its damage, and exits, leaving everything blistered in its wake.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/witchskull

To buy the album, go here: https://riseaboverecords.com/product/the-serpent-tide/

For more on the label, go here: https://riseaboverecords.com/