October 17, 2014 | | 3.5

Nunslaughter / Acid Witch, Spooky split

Nunslaughter / Acid Witch – Spooky

Not only are Nunslaughter and Acid Witch unlike one another musically, they are also near opposites in terms of their release production. While the former is notoriously proficient in releasing full-lengths, splits, or EPs at a near maniacal pace, the latter has been dormant since 2010’s Stoned.

Together, however, they make for one hell of a vivid, aural nightmare. Each band serves up two new tracks of Hellish delight with Acid Witch getting things started. “Evil” is a bong resin and organ drenched offering right in the band’s wheelhouse. Anyone who has heard one of the band’s songs in the past will instantly recognize it as one of theirs. The chilling organ leads the way for massive, doomy riffage before the band descends into a psychotropic Hell of sorts — it’s much more layered and off-kilter than the band’s usual stuff.

“Evil” certainly has an all-too-familiar sound, but the band’s second offering “Fiends of Old” steers straight forward with an old school death metal vibe. With lines like “The smell of death should reek of old Flannel shirts and rotten clothes,” the track is freakin’ awesomely hilarious. Throw in galloping riffage and a few organ blasts for good measure and you have a highlight on the EP.

Nunslaughter delivers some seriously thrashing mayhem with “A Sordid Past.” The track is raw and thundering as the band tears through a minute and 50 seconds with malevolence and despair. It’s not as raucous as some of the band’s past material, but it suits the split nicely. “Spooky Tales” is the band’s other helping here and we see the group slow things down to a murky, swampy stomp. The song may be off the normal pace of what we are accustomed to hearing from the band, but it’s no less evil. In fact, I think I dig it more than it’s partner.

Spooky isn’t a necessary, need-to-have release, but it is pretty damn fun to pit two bands like these against one another on the same EP. Acid Witch pretty much bring more of what we’ve come to love from them while Nunslaughter continue to add to their ever growing list of releases.