WICCANS – Phase IV

Wiccans only make noise when they feel like it. A band that’s been uttered in reverence for nearly two decades with only a handful of releases, each one a stand-alone classic. You see, it’s hard to pinpoint a band that actually has the equal influences of American psychedelia and hard rock all anchored in the glorious benevolence of American Hardcore. A tonne of bands dance around and flirt with each but it rarely lands in the sweet spot. They’re not trying to fit some supposed perfect space and that’s the very point so many others miss. Wiccans are creating the space. Breaking rules and allowing a bit of breadth to what is often a claustrophobic style of music. This might sound scary as everyone knows that the more Hardcore evolves the worse it is – at least on record. The formula that Wiccans are playing with on Phase IV should scare you. It’s totally potent with odd songwriting, intensely creative and varied guitar work and completely pissed vocals. Phase IV does whatever the fuck it wants and passes the bar that only Wiccans could have set for themselves. All of this is propelled by a far stronger production quality than previous efforts and instead of having that expose some fault line it’s secured it as a modern classic. It’s the kind of shit that will shake the dandruff from the beard of a Third Man collector but will also make that guy stop going to DIY gigs because they’re “too rough” or whatever. I’m just sitting here wondering if this is maybe what might have happened if Poison Idea wrote Hidden World. There’s always space for a carbon copy Negative Approach destroying someones basement and they usually put out a record that is clearly brilliant but fuck me if I can’t help but yawn. Am I getting old or is Hardcore painting by numbers? In a slough of legitimately top tier Hardcore Punk releases, this one actually sounds like something truly special. Josh Nickel