WITCH FYRE ~ FFOBR?

A while ago Bandcamp reviewer and Doomed and Stoned blog contributor Paul Rote coined the term FFOBR (female fronted occult blues rock), a term he came up with to describe a current trend (and long may it continue) among bands of the stoner/doom and occult genre to turn to the female voice for their vocal colouring. Witch Mountain, Royal Thunder and to some extent the legendary Acid King have all paved the way for those of the fairer sex to get up there, strut their stuff and show to those that think a woman's voice has no place in rock music that they are as good, and in some cases better, than their male counterparts. The latest addition to this, ever growing, list of ladies doing it for themselves is Samantha Cram, the explosive vocalist of Rhode Island's Whisky Fyre.
Less blues orientated than a lot of the FFOBR bands Whisky Fyre nonetheless deserve to be heard, as evidenced on their self-titled and self funded EP now available over at Bandcamp

Whiskey Fyre (the EP) is a marvellous amalgamation of heavy metal riffology, infectious occult rock grooves and gritty stoner fuzz  all topped off with Cram's impassioned and emotive vocals. The three guys behind that voice, Brian Rice, Tom Cat and Michael Colantonio, create, between them, a sonic maelstrom of heavy grooviness, shifting time signatures as if they were furniture and seamlessly moving from one glorious riff to another, never losing the intensity and laying down thick, syrupy grooves of metal perfection. Over this sonic riff fest Cram's voice wails, croons and growls and gives Whisky Fyre a fragile edginess  that may have been lost had the vocal been that of a testosterone fuelled male.
The female voice in metal/rock music is like Marmite ( a UK yeast product that uses the slogan "you either love it or hate it"), some will accept it, some will love it and others won't give it the time of day, but if you find yourself somewhere in the middle of those views then I urge you to give Whisky Fyre a try... you might be surprised.