LP Review: "Arcanum" by Space Witch

Arcanum

The year was circa 1984 and my cousins and I were fighting off our yawns.

It was a very late night for us, but it was Saturday night and what was certain to become our absolute favorite show was coming on at about 12:00am.

To this day, my best recollection of that night was seeing this giant wave of black. It looked like a wrinkly clam shell. It was...well I remember it existing.

The next morning, we discussed this show. My cousins remembered it vividly and told me how great it was, but my memory banks only held a vision of that strange clam shell.

Suffice it to say, the wait, the pushing, and the exhaustion were not worth it to me that evening. So badly did I desire to be a Dr. Who fan. Later I did see full episodes and they did not impress me much.

Space Witch

Aside from the poor costumes, all I recall is the theme song. The lasering synths still hold sway in my heart today.

Space Witch paid a bit of homage to those theme songs from the before time. (Not sure if the song is still on the  new serieses of the good doctor, and I don't care.)

Arcanum is another one of those long form metal records. It clocks in around 55 minutes or so and it's comprised of only four tracks.

It's largely instrumental. In lieu of trying to impress their listeners with blistering speed, blazing guitar solos, and a supreme grasp of music theory, Space Witch launches into epics at largely the speed of the Fellowship of the Ring.

There's no hurry to arrive at a destination. The journey is the destination.

Along the way, some standard issue metal anger is sprinkled in along with liberal amounts of Dr. Who Melodies, but by the middle of the fourth track, Space Witch seems to have regained their composure.

It's an interesting feeling. It's as if we are watching the unraveling and re-raveling of a group of people.

Release: 6/9/17
Genre: Space Rock/Post Doom
Label: HeviSike Records
Facebook