Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

All Hail Windhand, All Hail The Sinister 'Three Sisters'

Windhand.
Sally Patti
/
Courtesy of the artist
Windhand.

You can hear the hum of the speaker, buzzing from a quiet bass line. You move closer to the riff; it beckons with mysterious portent like a smoking cauldron... and then the pot spills, the riff wobbling in distorted frequencies, a heavy hand on the organ and a voice singing a spooky fairytale. It's too late, you've met the "Three Sisters."

Windhand's psychedelic doom-metal has only become more beguiling since its 2010 demo, each record turning a deeper shade of crimson, swaddled in velvet fuzz. Some of the Richmond quartet's best songs have appeared on split releases with like-minded bands Cough and Salem's Pot, and now they're keeping it local for a 12" with Virginia biker-doom-punks Satan's Satyrs.

"Three Sisters" is Windhand in Dopesmoker mode, keeping to one spliff-worthy Sleep riff over its 14 minutes without much deviation, exploring the textures of rumbling amp stacks, well-placed snare hits that pop out of the murk and Dorthia Cottrell's irresistibly sinister and sweet croon.

Windhand's split LP with Satan's Satyrs comes out Feb. 16 via Relapse Records.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Listen to the Viking's Choice playlist, subscribe to the newsletter.