Bell Witch -- Demo 2011

First off, I wanted to say hello out there. I'm glad to be on board with Nick to try to bring you a look at some interesting extreme/experimental music. 


Bell Witch are a 2 piece that hail from Seattle. They are made up of members of Samothrace, Sod Hauler and Lathe. I had not realized when listening to the demo that there was no guitar on this record until after I had finished listening to it, it's all
bass and drums. Possibly the lowest tuned bass I've ever heard for that matter. 


The demo is made up of 4 tracks, the first and the last being intro and outro tracks. The intro track "Beneath The Mask" has an unusual sample that I can't put my finger on. A rather interesting monologue backed with a simple piece of music, but it kind of sets the tone for the record. The meat of the record are the middle 2 tracks, which clock in together at almost 30 minutes. 


"I Wait", the first of these 2 tracks, is a very interesting affair. I found myself trancing out to the slow drony passages, occasionally jerked back into reality by some pretty serious screaming. The track would then calm down and pull you back into that tranced out state, but again, you'd be jerked out by seering vocal passages. Very interesting track to start off the record. 


"Mayknow" is the longest of the 2 tracks, clocking in at almost 20 minutes. The track got my attention pretty quickly with clean vocals that were very "chant like", for lack of a better way to put it. It felt as if some ancient spirit was being summoned forth, or even a lament for something lost. There are long instrumental sections in this track and some seriously doomy riffs. These guys do a great job of alternating clean vocals, screams and low growls. It's not overkill on any of it, and the clean vocals come as ethereal and not cheesy. I have to say, I'm having a hard time finding another band to compare these guys to, which is a good thing. 


The outro track "The Moment" is a simple bass instrumental. Nice way to close the record. Kind of the "come down" piece. 


All in all, an interesting first outing. I'm definitely looking forward to hearing what Bell Witch will put forth in the future. 


You can find their demo here. Facebook page here. Blogspot here.