Witchcryer’s debut release “Cry Witch” is a hypnotic, riff-heavy throwback to the dawn of doom and heavy metal. Fresh off their first US tour in support of “Cry Witch” (previously only available on CD), they have just signed with Ripple Music and re-released their debut on all platforms and vinyl.
Austin, Texas’ old school doomers Witchcryer cites Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Blue Oyster Cult and St. Vitus as influences, and you can hear all of them in the title track “Cry Witch”. Frontwoman Suzy Bravo has some serious attitude in her powerful, gritty vocals. Founding member Jason Muxlow (ex- Earthen Grave) provides the heavy guitar riffs, while drummer Javi Moctezuma and bassist Marilyn provide the doomy battery. Love the bass tone on this album. Pick this up, you won’t be sorry!
Check out the title track’s trippy official video below.
The best albums of 2017? Please. What does that even mean? Instead, here are the albums that basically lived in my CD player or in my earbuds since I first heard them.
Last year I split my list into indie and major labels. This year was another great year for music but I brought it back to one list. If it’s a little indie heavy, that’s because I found myself listening to a lot (a LOT) of great unsung heroes of modern heavy rock, often courtesy of the consistently amazing Ripple Music.
Without further ado, these are the albums I just couldn’t stop listening to this year. Some you may know, some you are about to discover!
I swear I only just found out these guys were from Belgium when I went to write this. Now I’m even more blown away. Every song on this masterful debut album is excellent, each leading into the other like a tapestry of heavy psych rock with nods to Pink Floyd and classic 70s rock and roll. How can you not love a lyric like “why did you just have to smoke me like I was your last cigarette” (“Roadburner”)? I’m not sure how else do describe them so let me put it this way – they’re not a direct relative, but they wouldn’t be out of place at a Kyuss family reunion. This is hands down my favorite album of the year.
The swan song of Baltimore’s The Flying Eyes sees them going out at the top of their game. Burning of the Season is a tour de force of psych-infused fuzz rock that comes off as a late 60s/early 70s rock band on steroids. The deceptively laid back vocal delivery just helps to weave a subtle spell and draw you in deeper to the magic they weave.
Yes that Gary Numan. Three decades after Cars was a big hit on radio and MTV, we may have his masterpiece: Savage: Tales from a Broken World, which plays like a soundtrack of a post-apocalyptic movie that I would absolutely go see right now if I could. Lush with synths and programmed drums that sound as organic and fluid as a cyborg orchestra, the songs on Savage are alternately dreamy and intense, but always haunting. Middle eastern wails and scales add extra spice to the lush soundscapes as the album progresses.
Um, DAMN. Living Colour is BACK. Same fire, same incredible musicianship you know and love, but with a new depth and maturity that you only get with age, like a cask strength Scotch. It’s like they didn’t miss a step, but I’m not kidding, hearing Corey Glover in my ears again brought a tear to my eye right out of the gate, it was like reuniting with a long lost friend I didn’t know I missed so much. No one bends and blends genres like these guys. Metal, rock, funk, blues and then some, Shade is a delicious and wonderful stew that you must have in your collection, and naturally their message is timely as fuck.
This debut from France’s The Necromancers boasts fuzzy, heavy blues with vocals as frequently fuzzy as the guitars. It took me a few listens to realize it actually was devil-themed, but only because I was enjoying the music so much. (Yes, I know, the title, band name and cover should have tipped me off!) Servants of the Salem Girl is an album of light and shade, smooth and rough; at turns hesitant, gallopy, and sludgy, but never boring. Take it with you and crank it loud on your next muscle car trip down a dusty highway!
I’m not going to lie, I was hugely disappointed after waiting two years for the followup to Royal Blood’s amazing full length self-titled debut. How Did We Get So Dark sounds like a major label got hold of a great band and said ‘you have to make this more appealing to the general public’. And so it goes. BUT. But. The more I listened, the more it grew on me, and now I have to admit it is a great album in its own right. Yes, highly polished and lacking much of the grit, fire, and clever phrasing I loved on Royal Blood but yeah, it makes my list on its own merits. Full of bangers, this one.
Hardcore QUOTSA fans may not dig it as much as previous records, but this Mark Ronson-produced album grabbed me and got me grinning from go. Yeah we know, Josh Homme is a diva. But you know what, there are so few bona fide rock stars any more that who gives a fuck, let him continue to fully embrace his ego and take it into the back seat of a pimped-out 57 Chevy and have his way with it, if it keeps sounding like this much fun.
With their third release, Seattle doom duo Year of the Cobra really seem to hit their stride, finally nailing what is close to their live sound. Amy’s soft, feminine vocals over the low growl of her Rickenbacker bass is a unique and haunting combination. Add Johanes’ beastmode drums and you have a fuzz classic on your hands. If you have a chance to see them live, do it! He may be the first drummer I’ve seen break a snare head during a show. Beast. Mode. Get it.
Late addition to the list, I don’t even know how I randomly stumbled on this one, but this EP of “honkyfunk” jams from Nashville based indie Huckleberry Quick is just too groovy, too fun, to ignore. This should be on the radio instead of most of what’s there now.
Honorable Mentions
So much good music this year, these are great albums that deserve a listen or several, just wanted to throw them out there:
Really, I listened to so much music I lost track. Just check my YouTube history, you’ll find some good stuff! What were your favorites? Comment below or let me know!
Todd Severin is the President & CEO of San Francisco Bay Area-based Ripple Music, an independent record label that specializes in heavy blues and psychedelic-based hard rock, sometimes referred to as ‘stoner rock’. Ripple Music represents an ever-growing catalog of established as well as up and coming bands such as Mothership, Wo Fat, Gozu, The Watchers, Salem’s Bend, Arrowhead, ZED, Blackwulf, and Mos Generator, all of which can be found on Ripple’s always updated Bandcamp page. I’m on their notification list, and constantly amazed at how often new bands appear on the page, and also how consistently good the various albums are.
Despite a crazy schedule that includes a day job and just getting back from the first annual Ripple Fest in Sweden (!), the very gracious and hard working Todd agreed to answer some questions about what it means to run an independent label, what an indie label is and does, and what young bands should know about indie labels.
Mojo: Tell us a little bit about your music background. How did you get started with Ripple Music? How did it come together?
Todd: Hell if I know. I’ve just been sitting on the tracks as the Ripple crazy train came and swooped me up. Actually, I have a history in radio, a disc jockey at KSPC FM in L.A. and KSDT FM in San Diego and mostly I’m a diehard music junkie. My partner used to front a heavy metal band, Blind Justice, and is just as sick in the head about music as I am. About 10 years ago, we’d been talking about starting a ‘zine to review the masses (thousands upon thousands of LP’s and CD’s in our collections). Finally one day, I started The Ripple Effect on Blogspot, which quickly became a very cool review site. Now, it has 15 writers working on it. About a year into the Ripple Effect, a good friend said “rather than just write about the music, you should play it for people to hear“ Next thing you know, he set us up on Blogtalkradio and Ripple Radio became the top-rated music show on the station, and we‘re hanging out interviewing Marky Ramone, Fee Waybill, and others along with Ripple artists like Tony Reed and Kent Stump. Had a ball.
Within about another year, one thing led to another and JPT Scare Band, an amazing proto-metal, acid blues, heavy psych band from the 70’s dropped a stack of unreleased masters on my desk with the words “Put this out for us,” so, with that, we started the Ripple Music record label and JPT’s Acid Blues is the White Man’s Burden was our first release on glorious yellow and green translucent vinyl, psychedelic double LP. That was 2010. And we’re off and running … All started by a love of seriously heavy riffs.
What are the services you offer to the bands on your label?
Quite honestly, we do more than many small labels are capable of because we’re focused on artist development and growth. That’s been my focus from the beginning. So we do all the manufacturing for LP and CD, including our multi-colored, limited edition vinyl runs. [Ripple uses Pirates Press for vinyl pressing.] We also have world-wide physical and digital distribution via our major physical distribution partners and of course iTunes, Spotify etc. We have full-time PR and do full promotion on all our releases, including some advertising, and we have tour bookers that work with us to help us get our bands out on tour. More things in the works.
How does a band become attached to the label?
That’s complex. First and foremost of course, it’s about the music. I want to hear something different, I don’t need another post-Sabbath, post-Kyuss clone. Inspired, sure. But not a clone. The band has to have a good feeling about them makes them different, what is special about their sound. Then they must take their music and their profession seriously. Bands have to tour, they have to gig, they have to work hard, they have to be very aware of self-promotion and marketing. The band should already have a sizable, established fanbase, and have toured. A label can not make a band, but a label and band together can create some magic. The band have to be nice people, because it becomes a very close working relationship, they have to be willing to give and take, come with a great work ethic, a sense of humor and an understanding of the realities of the music industry. Divas are not allowed and won’t be tolerated. Then there’s just the intangible. There has to be something special going on. Something exciting. I’ve not been excited about some established bands and been very excited about some new bands. It just has to resonate.
What’s a typical day (or week) like at Ripple music?
Ha ha, oh man. Well, first thing to know is that I have a day job. So, Ripple is always done between things and then many, many dedicated hours after work and weekends. Essentially, it never stops. There is no typical week, there is always a rush or an urgent thing to handle. There are over 300 emails a day, band submissions to listen to, social media to update, test pressings to approve, projects to set up for manufacturing, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, the online store to update, press releases to write, information to send to our PR crew, accounting, inventory, shipping, helping bands on tour, art proofs to approve, videos to make. It truly is a non-stop, every day full-time job. Which is cool, because I love it.
What’s different about an indie label that sets it apart from major labels?
The toughest challenge is simply getting people to listen. A small indie can’t dump unlimited money into a release to ram it onto the charts. It’s not like the old days where you could get a song played on a major market FM station and get a breakout hit. There is very little role for terrestrial radio anymore, and with Sirius/XM and all the internet radio options, mixclouds and podcasts, there’s just no one place for people to go now for music. With streaming and YouTube and Bandcamp, etc, there are a million options and that’s just for music, not even mentioning other forms of entertainment. It’s like being in a room with a million crying infants all screaming for your attention. Which one do you listen to? So, it’s hard to get people’s attention, to be heard. But fortunately, there is a large and growing, devoted heavy music/heavy metal underground that isn’t shy about pushing what they love and sharing bands and labels and releases. That underground is growing more vital, and platforms such as Facebook and internet groups actually facilitate that growth. And there are great heavy music sites and internet radio/mixtapes/podcasts that do an amazing job of staying on top of the music and pushing it out to a potential audience. So the underground is healthy and growing. The challenge still is simply to be heard.
How many employees does Ripple have?
None. There are no full time (or even part-time) employees at Ripple. We do have a crazy crew of fantastic “volunteers” who are essential to Ripple moving down the tracks. Crazy guys like Matt W, Hakan, Mark, Matt B, Bucky, James (Penfold), and Chance, who essentially work for the love of it or for vinyl and test pressings, and of course my wife, Corrine aka “Bubba”, and Pope’s fiancée Jodi . Couldn’t survive without them. We contract our PR, tour booking, distribution, consulting and Festival services. Some of us get together every week at Ripple HQ to ship out the week’s orders and fill distribution invoices. Almost all of the day-to-day activities, from Legal to Executive to Operations to A&R falls into my hands.
Are you partnered with other companies that help take your services global?
Yes, distribution and PR. We are world-wide.
What advice do you have for indie bands looking to get aligned with a label?
Gonna refer you to the my answer on how a band gets on Ripple. I believe my answer would apply to most labels.
Are there times when you would recommend a band should not be on a label?
Yes. If the band isn’t going to tour because of work or home issues, and doesn’t gig much, then they’re probably just as well served releasing the album themselves. The whole point to working with a label is to reach a bigger/different audience than you could on your own, and to help with the multitude of business and operational issues. If the band focus is simply to write some music, record it and make it available for fans, they can place it on Bandcamp themselves and press their own CD’s and LP’s and good success.
Is there anything else you would like people to know about Ripple or indie labels?
Yes, people should know that most of the labels in the underground do what they do for the love of it all. No one (or very few) are making their livings at this. There’s simply not much money in underground music these days. So, it’s done for the love of music, that’s the reward. It’s helping a band realize their dream when they hold their first ever vinyl release in their hands, or helping a band reach another level or a bigger audience. It’s getting fan letters from customers who just dig what we’re doing and thank us for what we’re doing to keep rock alive. It’s the excitement I get every time I discover a brand new band that absolutely has something brand new and kick-ass to bring to the table.
And it’s the fact that I still put out the albums I want in my collection, which means that I have one badass record collection.
Witchcryer’s debut release “Cry Witch” is a hypnotic, riff-heavy throwback to the dawn of doom and heavy metal. Fresh off their first US tour in support of “Cry Witch” (previously only available on CD), they have just signed with Ripple Music and re-released their debut on all platforms and vinyl.
The best albums of 2017? Please. What does that even mean? Instead, here are the albums that basically lived in my CD player or in my earbuds since I first heard them.
Todd Severin is the President & CEO of San Francisco Bay Area-based 
