October Collective Collab Blog: Songs of Witchcraft

Dust off your spell books and heat up your cauldrons , because for the October edition of the collaborative blog, the collective has conjured up a spooky, supernatural playlist. From the dark heavy metal worship to the modern day reclamation anthems, these songs all observe the true icons of the occult - WITCHES!

A. Iwasa's Pick

Song:  “Black Sabbath”
Artist:  Coven
Album:  Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls (1969)
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The first track on an album from the very cutting edge of proto metal.  There is some debate about who influenced who, but when the band Black Sabbath has gotten its due, other bands like Coven haven’t so much.  

Honorable mention: 
“Let the Day Begin” by Samhain - In my heart of hearts, I still want to organize Halloween caroling Misfits songs at Tucson punk houses…

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Randy's Pick

Song:  Kassidat el hakka
Artist:  SEXWITCH
Album:  SEXWITCH (2015)
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The whole album which this song comes from is worth checking out, but this one  is my personal favorite. It’s a hypnotic, anxious tune that creates a trance-like world within its 8-minute runtime. Natasha Khan bellows throughout and gives a powerful performance as the song descends into madness. The tribal rhythm combined with looping electronic samples and repetitive guitars creates a unique shamanic atmosphere- a horror film tinged with the magic of witchcraft.

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Parisa's Picks

Song: “Black Magic Woman”
Artist: Azizaa Mystic
Album: Vodou (2018)

There are so many amazing songs about witchcraft that I wish I had time to write about this month (see my list below), but since I only have time for one full write-up this month, I figured I'd spotlight my current favorite. Azizaa Mystic is a Ghanian woman who is renouncing Christian colonialism and reclaiming ancient Vodun* traditions. This track is a celebration of witchcraft, magic, and the indigenous spiritual practices from West Africa, reveling in their empowering roots that have been lost over time. By controversially rejecting modernism (Ghana is one of the most religious countries in the world), Mystic bravely invites fellow Ghanians/West Africans to embrace sankofa** and “discover and fuck with the magic defined”. I also highly recommend her track “Adze Kolo - Voodoo Pussy” - a banger of a track that relinks witchcraft to confident sexuality.

*As Azizaa Mystic states in her PBS interview: ‘Vodun is the African way of what Westerners would call God. It’s the spiritual system of the African people. The real term is not Voodoo — it’s Vodun. It’s been Westernized as Voodoo. It’s a spiritual connection to the universe, to our God.”
** a phrase that translates to "returning to roots"


​​Honorable mentions:
“Brujas” - Princess Nokia - another song celebrating witchcraft and Yoruba culture
“Our Mother The Mountain” - Townes Van Zandt - nothing gives me chills more than a cowboy singing about a supernatural experience
“Love Song for a Witch” - Dog Fashion DIsco - Mr. Bungle worship
“Witches Sabbath” - Emperor - vocalist Ihsahn already has such a shrieky witch voice, so this song comes about so naturally
“Witch Hunt” - The Spits - the spooky intro to this track is almost longer than the song itself! But like any Spits song, it’s fast, fun, and catchy as hell
“Eye of the Witch” - King Diamond - from the concept album “The Eye”, dealing with themes of Christian atrocities like witch hunts
“Witching Hour” - Venom - protometal from the pits of Hell!
“Witchcult Today” - Electric Wizard - doom metal witchy goodness, pairs great with a Black Mass
“Of Gorgons Spawned Through Witchcraft” - Naglfar - the most visual and poetic lyrics in black metal!
“The Court of the Crimson King (including THE RETURN OF THE FIRE WITCH and THE DANCE OF THE PUPPETS)” - King Crimson - obviously
“Witchery”- Witchery - titular track from Swedish extreme death metal band
“Spellbound” - Siouxsie and the Banshees - a witchcraft essential and classic!
Witchtanic Hellucinations - Acid Witch - a full LP, each song about witches, spells, cauldrons, etc. You can also check out an interview I did with Acid Witch about witchy stuff here.
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Alex's Picks

Song: “Burn the Witch”
Artist: Queens of the Stone Age
Album: Lullabies to Paralyze (2005)

One of the legacies of the Salem Witch Trials is that the term “witch hunt” has been firmly planted in our vernacular as a term interchangeable with a smear campaign founded on character assassination. Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme felt like he was on the receiving end of such a witch hunt in the early 2000s. Following tours for their 2002 album Songs for the Deaf, he fired his friend and longtime collaborator, Nick Oliveri, as the band’s bassist due to Oliveri’s aggressive treatment of the band’s fans and, later, domestic abuse accusations. Some fans started bad mouthing Homme for having the audacity to take this perfectly reasonable course of action because it was robbing them of enjoying Oliveri’s musical contributions, and as we all know, that’s much more important than… ya know, treating human beings with basic respect and decency. Homme wrote a song about these experiences, and that song is “Burn the Witch.” Guest backup vocals from ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons are a lovely added touch. Lullabies to Paralyze is still widely considered to be one of Queens of the Stone Age’s best albums. The band is still big and doing just fine nowadays. So really - what was the point of all that fuss? Hey, at least we got a killer song out of it.

Song: “Malleus Maleficarum”
Artist: AFI
Album: Black Sails in the Sunset (1999)
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Speaking of witch hunts, anyone with a set of beliefs that challenge social order may find themselves on the receiving end of one someday. AFI has a song called “Malleus Maleficarum” (named after the Catholic Church’s 15th century treatise on witchcraft that was used as a manual on how to identify and prosecute witches) about this very subject. Singer Davey Havok is a longtime vegan, atheist, and adherent to the straight-edge lifestyle, so he’s no stranger to feeling out of step with the world. He penned this as an anthem for those who become pariahs for speaking up and fighting the good fight when they see something wrong with society. Also, I want to take this opportunity to say that every Halloween, I *only* listen to old school AFI while I’m at home waiting for trick or treaters. In my opinion, their album and EP run from 1997-2000 is the most perfect music for spooky season ever written. Happy Halloween, everybody!

Honorable Mentions:
Donovan - “Season of the Witch” - It might be low hanging fruit, but it’s a timeless classic chock full of eerie psychedelia that has stood the test of time.
Ghost - “Stand by Him” - One of my favorite Ghost songs. The lyrics tie witchcraft to female sexual desire; I have done zero research to back this up, but I would not be surprised if this was the actual motivation behind every Christian persecution of witches in history.
The Sword - “Tres Brujas” - This song is a trip. It’s obviously about getting stoned with witches, so crank it up, load up your bong, and bubble bubble toil and trouble!
Rob Zombie - “Dragula” - I don’t think this song actually has anything to do with witches but it mentions “burning through the witches” in the chorus, and it’s a certified dance floor BANGER, so I’m throwing it in.