Doomed Confessionary: Jason (Void Witch)
Void Witch is a doom/death metal band out of Austin, Texas, formed from ex-members of Azoth, Shitstorm and Drainbow during the Years of Great Plague and conceived as a collective project to give unearthly voice to the gruesome maunderings of our corrupted and degenerate minds.
After a critically acclaimed demo in 2021, Everlasting Spew Records took them under its belt and crafted it on physical format with a new bonus track, in the meanwhile the Texas combo worked hard on their debut album, »Horripilating Presence«, set to be released on July 26th, 2024.
Void Witch’s aesthetic is an unholy marriage of classic doom metal, old school death metal, and grunge sensibilities with themes of body horror, gruesome myth, murder ballads, and other cautionary tales.
Void Witch are Luke (bass, vocals), Nic (guitar), Jason (guitar) and Adrian (drums).
Can you say a few words about your band?
We formed in early 2021, on Twitter of all places. We all were sort of loosely connected in the Metal Twitter community and Nick, our lead guitarist, put out a call for Austin-area musicians who wanted to start a death doom band. We started a Discord, chatted about influences and started sharing demos back and forth to start the writing process. We put out a 2-song demo a little later that year and we were surprised at the attention it got, particularly from labels. We signed with Everlasting Spew and got straight to work on our first full-length album, which will finally see the light of day on July 26th.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Our biggest challenge has been, and will continue to be, our own schedules. We’re all parents with careers and it’s tough to balance. We’ve figured out how to stay productive with songwriting, but aligning all four of our schedules when a show offer comes through can sometimes be difficult.
What can you be most proud of so far?
I’m really proud of our new record. I’m a little nervous about it because I made the mistake of reading some Reddit posts where someone said that they hope we don’t drop the ball, so I’ll never do that again. It’s probably different from what people might expect, especially if they’ve been following us since the demo. Those songs on the demo were the first two that we wrote as a band and we’ve grown since then. We’ve further developed our sound and I think we’ve successfully pushed the boundaries of what can be considered death doom.
What was your biggest regret?
Strangely enough, we were set to have a guest harmonica solo on the album from John Popper but it fell through due to tragic timing. We were less than a week away from going into mixing and were going to squeeze a recording session in when John’s father sadly passed away.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
We don’t tour and like I said before, schedules can make live shows tough but we’ve played a handful in the past few years. My favorite so far was a local show we played with Orodrim back in February of this year. It was a really good crowd that night and I had some great conversations with several new converts at the merch table. It was also my first time seeing Orodrim, who are now one of my favorites in the Austin scene.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
That’s a tough one for me to answer. I didn’t really have many expectations when we started this band, so the growth we’ve seen in these three years has been a welcome surprise. I guess I’m also surprised how much business is conducted over Facebook and Instagram DM’s at this level.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
I’ve been listening to a lot of Feral Forms, Fossilization, Vacticinal Rites, Seraphic Entombment and Convocation. They’re all label mates of ours and I would have to say that Convocation is absolutely my favorite band on Everlasting Spew; I keep saying that I would love to do a split with them someday. World Eaters and Slave Agent, both from Ontario, have also been on heavy rotation. I also just discovered Ataraxy, who I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of until just a few weeks ago.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
I used to be one of those “tone comes from the fingers” guitar players and thought that gear didn’t matter at all. Yes, you have to be a good player but I started experimenting more with pedals, amps, and different guitars and finally found my sound. I don’t know if it came in the form of advice per se, but when I saw Nick’s pedalboard the first time we came together for a rehearsal I knew I needed to open my mind a bit.
What are your guilty pleasures?
I dislike most podcasts, but there are a few that I listen to almost obsessively whenever a new episode drops. I suppose I feel guilty about that. I should be listening to more music instead of middle aged guys in arrested development rambling irreverently into a microphone.
Can you say something more about the music scene in Austin / Texas?
Austin has a healthy scene supported by some solid venues like The Lost Well, Valhalla, Kick Butt Coffee, and The Mohawk. If you put together a good lineup here, people will come. I’m really thankful that it’s not just 10-band deathcore lineups where the only audience is the other bands and their significant others.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We’re working on a few local dates right now. We just confirmed an opening spot for Thra at The Lost Well on August 31. We have another date in late October that’s not announced yet, but hopefully will be soon. So, we’ll do at least two more shows before the end of the year, maybe more. In 2025, we’ll look to get out of Austin and play some other regional shows.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
We’d like to put out another record in the near future. We already have a lot of material written and we’re in the process of sharing demos, giving feedback, and refining. We had a listening session earlier this week and I’m really happy with the direction we’re heading so far. I’d be careful not to set any expectations we can’t deliver on, but we would like to start recording by the end of next year.
How can people best support your band?
Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. We’re on Facebook too, but you know, whatever. Other than that, pre-order »Horripilating Presence« on CD and cassette. Then, when the vinyl releases in the fall, buy that too along with a backup copy. Then burn your backup copy because you really only need one.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
We appreciate all of the support so far. We may not be sincere often, but we do sincerely mean that.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well