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A
few months ago I was floored by a three-song release by an
American band called Totem. Totem sounded like the perfect
marriage of Grace Slick and a really doom-ified and folk-ified
Black Sabbath. And yes, they did not reply to my humble request
for an interview. (Actually, they just did) I thought their
music was incredible. Soon after, I found out that Totem were no
more, and that a new band comprised of Totem members (now a five
piece) was happening. I was elated because that at least meant
that those tunes would not perish. They would not fall into a
bottomless oblivion. I needed more of their esoteric sound. I
needed more of their depth. I needed more of their heaviness,
and more importantly I needed more of those vocals. Is the
wicked goddess that goes by the name of Jex Toth the incarnation
of everything that has been embellished with enchantment? Does
her persona signify the encounter of heaviness and a truly sense
of the arcane?
Judging by
this masterful thirteen song classic, I’d say absolutely yes.
Her gorgeous vocals are the perfect match to the solemnity of
the music. Jex Toth has a folksy flair you see, one that makes
smart use of keyboards and flutes in order to convey a soulful
vibe. This is doom, but Jex Toth’s art is not morose, nor sad,
nor depressing. Instead, it’s introspective and deep, and slow,
and timeless. Two worlds colliding have never offered a more
magnificent spectacle. And let’s face it that’s what Totem was
and that’s what Jex Thoth is. A meeting moment of the heavy, the
slow, the downtuned, the groovy, the psychedelic and the sexy,
the provocative, the dominating by sheer smarts, the
titillating, the provocative and more. I just ran out of
adjectives.
Jex Thoth
sounds like molten lava. It sounds like witchery needs to
shorten that long pimply nose, it sounds like the idea needs to
trade that broom for a rishka. It sounds like we better gather
around the fire and get the joints burning.
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Read our review of
Totem’s self-titled Ep. |
