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| Artwork by David Paul Seymour |
If Kyuss, the High Priestess of Stoner Rock, and ZZ Top, the Priest of Texas Boogie, made love at the Temple of the Riff, the resulting magickal aura just might be Wo Fat. Few bands worship riffage more joyously or fervently than this band of Dallas guitar slingers.
Midnight Cometh, their latest release, which is out May 20 on Ripple Music, continues the band’s signature psychedelic sonic exploration and pulls you headlong into its smoky spell.
The first song, “There’s Something Sinister in the Wind,” begins with ambient, singing bowl-like tone, lulling you into a trance before a droning riff comes rolling in and pounds you with a High on Fire-worthy breakdown. Guitarist Kent Stump has a great ability to construct riffs that double back on themselves, leading the listener through an intricate maze of sound.
Stump charges through all six songs, creating rifftacular jams that are by turns shredding and grooving, and making copious use of slide, wah and delay. Songs like “Of Smoke and Fog,” which begins with a nod to Robin Trower, and “Le Dilemme de Detenu” are the true psychedelic standouts. “Riffborn” pretty much speaks for itself, and showcases Stump’s guitar work at its most ferocious. Midnight Cometh ends in a similar place where it began, with a full and perfect union of ZZ Top-inspired slide work and a hazy, desert groove.