Double Review- Witchcraft-Legend & Colour Haze-She Said

Playing retro rock presents a challenge to any musician,let alone the accomplished ones of Colour Haze and Witchcraft.How do you play music reminiscent of another era,whilst staying fresh and interesting?
When you've got one foot firmly in the past,it can be difficult to place the other one in the door.
Doing that once is a challenge enough,but with both bands having many albums under their belts,and creating an influence that results in many people covering the same kind of territory as yourself,how do you put out a new album that isn't just more of the same?

Witchcraft- Legend

Swedish Pentragram worshippers (the band,not the symbol...although probably that too) first flew the flag for Sabbath style heaviness in 2004,with a self titled ripper.Now some 8 years later,with two albums in between,Witchcraft are back,with a mostly new line up.If their self titled was Paranoid re-invented,the new album Legend is definitely more influenced by something post Dio.I know what you're thinking...Sabbath with Dio wasn't exactly a bright time,it's ok thuogh,they pull it off.Legend is much more a metal revival than a classic rock re-invention.With shredding lead guitars and palm muted riffage,the album fits in alongside The Sword,and Thin Lizzy.
Much more upbeat than their earlier efforts,the band leadership of  the only original member Magnus Pelander is clear.He has said he's putting down the guitar to focus more on singing,and the vocal lines are definitely much more prominent and varied on this release.The only time I've noticed a European accent really shine through on an English spoken record,'An Alternative To Freedom' has a line "Karma works in rivers".Of course,being Swedish,it's 'Karma works in REEVERS",with thick nordic pronunciation.
Deconstruction
Legend is a faster moving,more focused release than previous Witchcraft material,with a much higher production value.Gone is the deliberate lo-fi sound,replaced by a thick,clear,modern mix.The drums are loud and clear,and low behold,this guys actually uses tom fills!
The song writing is excellent,with thick,slow paced riffs blended alongside thundering metal gallops.The more complex riffs of Legend do create a large departure from C-tuned power chords of old,keeping a fresh face.
Magnus Pelander clearly is a man with something to say,the band having had material banned in their home country.Leading the charge in attacks on the system is a ripper track titled 'Democracy',taking aim at the media and authorities through the use of heavy metal.
Democracy
The wickendess of old is definitely still present,alongside grander aspects of a metal album that is a solid release expanding on the ideas and concepts of metal from a time before it started spiking its hair and wearing lycra.
For fans of Thin Lizzy,The Sword,Heaven and Hell,Judas Priest,etc

Colour Haze-She Said

Where do I even start with this? She Said is absolutely amazing.How about I fill you in? Who the hell are Colour Haze?
Colour Haze are the finest in European Stoner/Psych rock,flying the flag for trippers in a country that was still healing from decades of fall out from the events of the 20th century when they began playing heavy music.Forming in 1994,Colour Haze take on board elements of everything good.Kinda like Hendrix jamming on Kyuss riffs,they play some of the best long,stoner psych jams that their are.If there were any rules,Stefan Koglek and Co. have completely ignored them for nearly two decades,just noodling away with countless albums under their belt.Their influence has spawned a new generation of psych rock in Europe,evidenced in bands like Sungrazer,The Samsara Blues Experiment and Casua Sui.These grand pappies of the scene even started their own record label 'Elektrohasch',which has successfully gone onto to publish and promote their sound.
Their most recent release She Said has been a long time in the making.Some 4 years it's been since their last album All.That's not to say they've been taking it easy.Having spent 2 years in their own home studio, things haven't exactly gone swimmingly.Having had to scrap and re-record,remix,remaster,has certainly taken it's time.But my god,has the hard work paid off.She Said is nothing short of breathtaking.
Coming in at around 120 minutes,the band have pulled out all the stops for this double album. Piano,organ,theremin,a horn section,percussion and violin join the guitar,bass,drums and vocals of the trio,aswell as several guest musicians.And on that note,I've gotta say,bass player Philipp Rasthofer  has gotta be one of the nerdiest looking people in rock'n'roll.
The album isn't particularly pushing into completely new territory for the band,rather expanding on what they have been doing already.One noticeably different feature of this album however,is the extra tid bits put in between songs,now that the band has the freedom to record and produce independently,which brings me onto the track,'Transformation'.
Transformation
Holey mary and jesus,click that shit like your life depends on it.
Right from the psychedelic sounds in the intro,Transformation just blows me away.Drifiting between the endless jams Colour Haze are known for,and a tight focused structure,'Transformation' has some stunningly beautiful textures.The bass is thick,and at times has a sense of liquidity.The guitar is boundless,and the drums...oh the drums.You wait till you get to the crescendo.Tasteful beats are replaced with all out mayhem.Manfred Merwald,I tip my hat to you.The music is that good,it speaks for itself.
It seems that the idea of keeping songs shortened to a pop format,or trying to have a single,is an idea completely lost on the band,as the album rolls through tracks that seemingly don't end.That said,as much as I love endless stoner rock,it does feel as if there are places the band could have trimmed a bit of fat off some tracks,for a tighter,more focused record.The band conjures up mountains of sound from a liquid sea of coolness and jamming,all the time maintaining the ability to drop back down into a more free flowing form,or change the heaviness down a gear into some killer riff.A band strongly based in the live setting,She Said is a wonderful portrait of a very tight band,with a wonderful control over their insturments,and an ability to weave in and out of each other.
Album closer 'Grace' is another truly epic piece of music from the band,that sits alongside their overseas contemporaries, as the heavy stoner rock bands get older and wiser,and seek to take their compositions to a higher level,beyond simple C-tuned Sabbath worship,into more musically diverse territory.'Grace' has strong shades of Hendrix's Bold As Love,with some cool backwards guitar parts that fly over the top of a rising heaviness.
Grace
Overall,She Said is a monumental achievement,truly the best Colour Haze we have ever seen.It may have taken many frustrating years to make,but the band truly have a masterpiece to be proud of.After many years out of the spot light,but behind the scenes helping the new acts they have spawned,She Said sees the founders of cool return to the top of the psychedelic tree.This album is definitely one of my top picks for the year,but it does raise a strong concern in me.How the hell are they ever going to top this?
With nearly 20 years behind them,where will Colour Haze go to next?
Now if only I lived in Europe to catch the album tour,where the band will play super long extended sets,complete with guest musicians and crazy over the top light show.