Witch

Psychedelic trad-stoner metal trio Witch formed in 2005, anchored by the drumming of former Dinosaur Jr. guitar god J Mascis and bass player Dave Sweetapple. The duo enlisted guitarist/singer Kyle Thomas and later, a second guitar in Kurt Weisman. Dividing its time between western Massachusetts and Burlington, Vt., the band has released two albums on Tee Pee Records (home of High On Fire and the Brian Jonestown Massacre) and appeared on the 2006 heavy music comp Invaders. Plumbing the early '70s for hard-rock riffs and laying spaced-out vocals over the slow thud of the rhythm section, Witch is as much a rock band as a metal band, alternately extending jams into the stratosphere and delivering tightly wound nuggets of biker metal in more succinct bursts. Fans of Dinosaur Jr. are advised to buy Mountain's Climbing! and the first Free record before looking here for a sequel to Green Mind.