Spellcaster | website | facebook | bandcamp |
Released on September 15, 2014 via Bandcamp
I saw this band on a whim at one of my local music watering holes, The Lost Well, in Austin. Not really sure what to expect, it was a $5 show with local bands opening, that didn’t quite seem to fit the bill for this NWOBHM headliner. I had poked at Spotify on the way down a bit, settling on In Solitude’s Pallid Hands to get ready.
When I got there, I cruised by the merch table and the bassist engaged me in friendly banter, also introducing me to an other in the band, and I bought their latest album on vinyl. Why not support these charming, good-looking, long-haired young (barely legal? *laugh*) men from Portland? They reminded me a bit of the In Solitude crew, minus the tinge of death, and I fucking love In Solitude. They were also selling one of their first press records for $40, and I jokingly said I’d purchase it depending on how well they played that night.
After the preceding band finished and Spellcaster got tuned up and ready to go, they opened up with fog machines blasting, and if my embellished memory serves correctly, standing on the sands of time while each member’s long hair was windblown around him. *laugh* Maybe it was just the stage fans, but I was enraptured. I couldn’t recreate the set list if I tried, but my disappointment at not having enough money later to buy the aforementioned special release was heavy.
The next night, I had the good fortune to catch a ride about an hour south with a buddy whose band was opening for them in San Antonio. Again, somewhat unfitting, HOD’s black metal style turned out to be quite an apropos introduction; reminding me of the Tribulation/In Solitude match of 2013’s Wild Hunt Tour. The lighting and experience this time weren’t quite as epic as the first (nothing ever tops the magic of your first time), but it solidified my love of the band’s style. It has now been just over a month since those shows and I’m still either listening to or waking up with their songs stuck in my head regularly since.
Their self-titled album was released on vinyl 9.15.14 and is their third full album release. What I love about a great album is that when you listen to it in its entirety, it takes your mind somewhere, and that’s exactly what this album does for me. For Spellcaster, it’s a combination between the guitar riffs and the resonance of the singer’s voice. He’s got great breath control and projection. One of the things I like most about this band is how the cadence of the vocals fit so well over the rest of the music.
The album has got a nice intro that sets the tone aptly titled ‘The Fading Light’, leading into ‘As Darkness Falls’ and a few others, before a short interlude ‘Premonition’. If it’s relentless tough-guy heavy metal you’re looking for, this isn’t it. If I had to sum up the feel, it’s heavy metal to the tune of a long lost love in the great beyond.
‘Run Away’ is likely the song the band is banking on from this album to be their biggest hit, as they’ve created a music video. Some of my favorite songs from the album are ‘Ghost of My Memory’, ‘Haunted’, ‘Clockwork’ and ‘Voyage’, which is the album’s closer. The final track begins with a narrator’s voice interjecting: “The moon rode the sky. A cold sailor in the night.” Then a galloping drum beat, more heavy guitar riffs, and a voice singing lyrics that ride off into the night… “I close my eyes and drift away…”
While we all know British heavy metal is nothing new, these guys have nailed the new genre quite well. Check out their Bandcamp profile or if you’re in Portland, try to catch an upcoming show:
10/27 – Portland, OR @ Rotture w/Satan, Danava.
