Wizard Smoke unleashes ‘the Tickler’ EP

The Tickler by Wizard Smoke Today Wizard Smoke offers up its latest two-song blast titled the Tickler EP — although the song titles are “Christian Cross” and “Old Snake.” Both numbers breathe life into the record’s murky, 45-rpm dirges, each one taking up an entire side unto itself, unlocking some seriously hypnotic bottom-heavy tones. “Christian Cross” kicks things off with a sound that’s somewhat typical Wizard Smoke’s M.O.: scorched grooves with serrated edges that place an emphasis on the sinister and the ethereal qualities of metal. From the get-go it’s bigger and bolder than any of their previous releases. The production, courtesy of Harvey Milk’s Kyle Spence, fleshes out riffs that aim straight for the gut as the song plunges headlong into a 10-minute+ hell ride. The longer the record spins, the slower its rhythms grind along until it all congeals into a primordial mass of distortion and resonance.