stream Ohio psych-doomers Close The Hatch's new album 'Modern Witchcraft'
Dayton, Ohio’s Close The Hatch have been around for nearly a decade, with EPs dating back to 2012 and a debut full-length, VI (named because it was their sixth release, even if it was their debut album), which came out in 2017. They’re following VI with their sophomore album Modern Witchcraft this Friday (5/22) via Red Moth Records (pre-order), and we’re premiering a full stream of the album in this post. If you’re unfamiliar, Close The Hatch kinda have one foot in Electric Wizard-style psychedelic doom and one in Neurosis-style post-metal, and just when you feel like you’ve already heard way too much music in both of those styles, Close The Hatch come along with an album that feels fresh and not really derivative of any one thing in particular. Also, fun fact: it was co-produced with Micah Carli, a long-running/former member of emo-pop vets Hawthorne Heights (who are also from Dayton).
“Modern Witchcraft is the result of 2 years of work to create something unique in the sea of sameness that often plagues the sludge doom and post metal genre,” the band says. “After six releases, change was not only needed to bring new life into the band but it was paramount to growth as a band. Modern Witchcraft conceptually is a play on the addiction and hypnotic elements of modern communication. Social media, news, food delivery. Granted these things are all good to some degree they are also inherently negative. In addition to that love and over coming self doubt and embracing risk are items of lyrical focus. Overall we just wanted to try to do something we as a band had not done before and we think we achieved that.”
Listen:
