Dayton Ohio’s Close The Hatch has spent the last decade making unclassifiable noise reminiscent of the best and worst parts of a prolonged acid trip. They’ve conjoined the dark morphing soul of Pink Floyd with the darker composing creativity and personalities of the four inhabitants. Creating a mesmerizing opus of atmosphere, doom, experimental noise and ideas conjured by perverse influences.
Since 2011 they’ve molded ideas into six studio albums, evolving sound and structure, creating unforgettable and recurring mental nightmares and black soundscapes on record.
They’ve explored shrouded avenues of punishing riffs while seamlessly intertwining atmosphere, melody, and ethereal elements over the course of their musical output.
The vocals of Stephen Barton have an adorned spell-casting allure with differing levels of hopelessness, emotional dehydration and despair burdened into musical hallucinations. This is music that can’t be escaped by sleep or unheard with the off button, this is Modern Witchcraft.
Guitars twist and gnarl though “Death of Wolves” with slow, jerky, unpleasant progress mirroring pull-string limbs forced to continue. Like the warped protracted sound of a record crawling forward, vocals echo as guitars play through the rubble, vanishing quickly to simple strings leaving behind a dreamy, proggy, and Sabbathy hangover.
A bit of backwoods Babylon and deep woods screaming decorates “Modern Witchcraft” on the mantle. Guitars drag deep boggy depths used to drown decades of wicked history in instant darkness enveloped in shadow. Gritty as riffs get louder and more viscous like sharp teeth stretching out from a cursed text. A tune to mosh to till exhaustion sets in.
“Attunement” is the closest thing to a romantic rusted cyborg slow dance under an acid rain sky and blood moon. Almost in aftermath, the medical effects of “Thorazine Empire” kick in, with feelings of immoral medical doctrines and pharmaceutical malpractice.
The ear is drawn into the hypnotic pull of “Persona Non Grata” with reflecting cavernous notes, nocturnal atmosphere and deep claustrophobic sensations lingering like a desolate, long distance traveler. Burrowing music, ready to bellow out of the underground cellar, crawl space, or basement for grindhouse or snuff viewing.
“Exit Anxiety” approaches slowly, unexpected with sharp teeth ready to deliver a slow and methodical ripping end. There’s nothing calm, cool or collected present to rest blood shot, sweaty eyes or nervous bones.
In a space and time when live music has been thrown into the closet by an invisible force, new recorded sounds are all we have to hear. Modern Witchcraft give’s reason to be heard in person.
Modern Witchcraft is now available via Red Moth Records.
