All Them Witches at Gullivers review

Image: All Them Witches in Tel Aviv

“That would never have happened if you’d kept your shirt on” was the witty response from one member of the crowd as a bass amp threatened to pack in and silence All Them Witches’ seemingly indestructible wall of blues rock.

Once they were up and rocking again, going semi-naked was seemingly the only way to bear the stifling, sticky heat inside Gulliver’s.

The four-piece are truly what you’d expect from an American blues rock band, and embody the genre in its truest essence. Their glistening torsos were maybe a culture shock for the outspoken fan, perhaps more used to the reserved nature of the majority of British rock stars.

Let’s face it, you wouldn’t expect Royal Blood to start ripping their tops off would you?

 All Them Witches are the latest band to join the lengthy list of talented musicians hailing from Nashville and it was in Tennessee that they recorded their third album Dying Surfer Meets His Maker after setting up a studio in a cabin where the band lived and worked.

Their most current record, Lightning At The Door (above) was originally recorded and released back in 2014 but was re-released early this year after the band signed to New West records.

The album release has resulted in a tour that visits some of Britain’s more notable venues and gives fans this side of the Atlantic a chance to witness the raw power of the bands monstrous riffs and beer breathed vocals. 

It isn’t just fancy fretwork that makes All Them Witches tick however, the loose yet powerfully precise drumming of Robby Staebler was a sight to behold, particularly during ‘Charles William’. 

The group are blessed with four very talented musicians and it was a novelty to see a band with a dedicated blues organist who helped add to the more evocative moments of the set.

The change of instrumentation mid-way through that saw lead singer and bassist Charles Michael Parks Jr swap four strings for six resulted in some delicate finger picking and lingering solos during ‘Open Passageways’. 

This contrasted nicely with the rest of the decidedly heavy set and meant that the crowd’s experience was not merely a blues rock bludgeoning. 

Parks Jr. joked with the crowd that he was “feeling pretty aggressive cos of all this Stella I’m drinking” after someone informed him of the wife beater tag the brand has gained in this country.

Joking or not, he was a force to be reckoned with from the offset and his head banging and beer swigging was replicated throughout the crowd. 

Not least during 'When God Comes Back' which is essential listening for anyone looking to get into the band and is a satisfyingly punishing experience when witnessed live.

Its sheer monstrosity threatened to shake Gulliver’s to the floor and is exactly the reason why American bands are simply much better at pulling off this kind of music. 

It would be a travesty if All Them Witches never get the opportunity to play at larger capacity venues in this country. There’s no doubting the size of their riffs, all they need now is a room big enough to contain them.

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