I've been listening to Electric Wizard for quite a while now, but this is the first of their albums I've had on vinyl. I can do better than tell you about how I got into Electric Wizard, because in this case I can show you what made me listen to this band - this poster (you can click on the link, or see my (badly framed, but much loved) copy in the pictures below). You'll agree that it's a fucking incredible poster.
When I was living in Australia, Electric Wizard were touring the country with an Australian stoner/doom band called Pod People, which included two dates in Canberra (two more than most bands bothered with), one in the student union bar. A while before the gig, these posters appeared all over campus advertising the show and I remember thinking it was the coolest poster I'd ever seen. I'd heard of ANU getting some decent gigs in the past, but in the four months I'd been there nothing great had come to town. After seeing the posters I went home and Googled Electric Wizard; the first link I clicked on described Electric Wizard as "the heaviest band in the world". Needless to say, I was quite intrigued.
The worst part of this story, is that I didn't go to either of Electric Wizard's Canberra shows (or, in fact, any on that tour). They played a five minute walk from where I was living and I didn't go. In hindsight, I regret this very much. In the Australian calendar, late-October/early-November is exam time and I had four very difficult exams to prepare for (ANU was a much harder university than Lancaster). On top of that, I was going on a trip through central-Australia two weeks afterwards which would require most of the money I had left and some time planning. Finally, the gig was Au$28 and this was a lot of money to an exchange student with travel on his mind. At $28 there was no way I could convince any of my friends to come (who were far from metal fans) and this was before I didn't mind going to shows on my own. I should have gone.
Anyway, some time afterwards I picked up a copy of Dopethrone on cd and it blew me away. It's the most brilliantly slow yet grooviest doom I've ever heard. I made a copy for Hugh and he described Funeralopolis as being "two weeks long". A while later they played The Trinity Centre in Bristol and I went with Hugh, Richey and a friend of his whose name I've forgotten but was a nice guy. The Trinity Centre is/was a church and I can't think of a better venue to watch Electric Wizard in. It was excellent and I no longer felt like such a fool for missing them in Canberra. I've since seen them again and plan to see them as many times as possible. There's nothing like a good, slow headbang sometimes.
Black Masses is the latest Electric Wizard album, and if you go on Rise Above Records' website you can still get some fancy colours of this record. My sister asked me what I wanted for my birthday last year, and I asked for this. I'd been eyeing it up for a while, but hadn't quite got round to clicking "buy". The blue and red swirl looks great, although it's worth mentioning that in my colour-blind eyes I can only see the red clearly through a camera. Otherwise it just looks like the darker blue around the edge. The whole package is pretty lovely. Musically it's everything I want and I've come to expect from an Electric Wizard album. My favourites are Venus in Furs and Turn Off Your Mind.
I can't say there are many bands I've got into because they had an excellent tour poster, but Electric Wizard are certainly one of them. Before the gig I'd taken down one of the posters from one of the pillars around campus and I've had it on a wall in every house I've in since. Although it should remind me that I should have gone to see them, it mostly reminds me how awesome Electric Wizard are.
Format: Double 12", gatefold sleeve, picture sleeves
Tracks: 8
Cost: £0 new
Bought: gift
When: 29/10/12
Colour: Blue and red swirl
Etching: none
mp3s: no
