The Electric Wizard — We Live
An earlier incarnation of Electric Wizard rose to fame on the crest created by their stoner rock masterpiece Dopethrone. The band could not be contained, however, and guitarist/vocalist Jus Osborn was forced to reform the band after its premature demise. Osborn recruited Justin Greaves on drums, Rob Al-Issa on bass, and New York's quite lovely Liz Buckingham on guitar, and added the article "The" to the band name in order to make a distinction with the previous line-up. The reinvigorated Wizard gathered in July 2003 to record We Live, which may be considered the debut album of an altogether new outfit.
The template for doom and stoner rock is pretty well-known by now: downtuned guitars, plodding drums, long-form compositions, and a debt to be paid to Black Sabbath and Melvins, sometimes with a 100% interest rate. What makes The Electric Wizard rise above the masses is their absolute mastery of the form. Osborn can be credited with writing some of the most innovative and memorable riffs ever heard in this type of music. Even song lengths of over 10 minutes do nothing to diminish the sheer power of what the six string section of this band produces. Add to that the generously pounding drums and the quite remarkable bass work, and you know you are dealing with a release that may be looked back upon as defining the genre 10 years from now.
If you have seen The Electric Wizard live, you have been pleasantly confronted with their love of 1960s and 1970s European exploitation movies - this reviewer's heart skipped a beat when he saw scenes from long forgotten Jess Franco, Paul Naschy, and Renato Polselli movies, the kind that once separated the men from the boys in a different Europe, in a different space and time - a world of seemingly endless possibilities that however turned into the grim neon-lit nightmare of the 1980s. This B-movie aspect is given a voice on the album with the inclusion of a brief but intrigueing sample from the 1971 British biker zombie movie Psychomania.The Electric Wizard also make it known that their love of all things dark extends beyond the borders of the old world by naming the first song on the album after the popular series of Japanese teen horror movies, Eko Eko Azarak, known in the West under the monicker Wizard of Darkness. Come to think of it, this would have made a pretty good title for either the song or even the entire album. The song, which features haunting ritual chanting vocals, evokes the magic spells needed to conjure up demons, beasts of hell, and said wizards of darkness. Any band in this genre would be very glad to write one song as strong as the opening track here, but The Electric Wizard, stopping at nothing, give us six tracks of equal strength, all bearing the unmistakable signature of inspiration and commitment. Of course, much of the material finds its inspiration in the sound of 1970s Black Sabbath, but the band certainly makes it their own by playing it more dirty and more convincing than most of their contemporaries (with the exclusion of the mighty Boris, who operate at the same level). One of the band's strongest points is the searing solo guitar work, never degenerating into unnecessary wankery, but always adding a touch of melody to the otherwise slow, dark proceedings.
This record is very highly recommended to listeners who still believe rock music is quite able to deliver the goods when the legacy is put in the right hands. And if you are able, as I am, to find inspiration in this record, do yourself a dark favor and seek out some of those old exploitation movies: Exorcism, Mark of the Devil, Werewolf's Shadow, The Reincarnation of Isabel... The list is long and can bring many undreamed of but rewarding pleasures...