Paralyzed

Witch’s second studio album sounds less like a side project and more like a lifelong allegiance to doom metal. The band still features Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis on drums and Sweet Apple’s Dave Sweetapple on bass, while frontman/guitarist Kyle Thomas of the band Feathers is now joined by second guitarist Asa Irons (also from Feathers). The opening song, “Eye,” wastes no time in getting the jams kicked out with a noticeably faster drive and harder attack than the songs on Witch's impressive eponymous debut. As a rhythm section, Sweetapple and Mascis play with off-the-rails performances; Mascis recalls his drumming with the hardcore band Deep Wound. Thomas and Irons create a fretboard-shredding interplay here and in the following “Gone,” exploding like laser blasts one minute while oozing a steamy sonic sludge the next. Throughout Paralyzed, Thomas spits his lyrics into the mic like cobra venom. Over a Hawkwind-esque maelstrom of analog tape echo, he gives “1000 Mph” a vocal lashing unheard of in any Feathers recordings. “Old Trap Line” returns the band to its brooding tempos and raucous psychedelic haze.