Meet Cryptic Witch, Denver's New Doom-Bringers

Cryptic Witch, one of Denver’s newest doom bands, has been around for a little less than a year now but already has three albums written. Yes, three. You see, when guitarist and vocalist Tommy Murello teamed up with bassist Eli Klopatek and drummer Conor Amanatullah, he unleashed a headful of psychedelic stoner riffs that he’d been harboring over the years. The band grew organically from there.

“I had a lot of songs written already. I was ready to start this project. I just needed to find people, and I happened to find the two perfect people,” Murello explains. “I’ve been in a hundred punk bands, and the thing about being in punk bands is, they all kind of end. So I thought, maybe I’ll go try something else. This is really my second-favorite genre to play.”

Summoning, which is out everywhere on Tuesday, February 14, is Cryptic Witch’s debut album and the beginning of a doom-drenched trilogy. The band is celebrating with an album-release show on Sunday, February 19, at Globe Hall, with openers Megatheria, Stone Disciple and Wolf Lingo.

“We have three albums planned out right now, so the first one is part of a trilogy. I have so much music that we don’t even have the time to work on it,” Murello says with a laugh, before adding that there’s probably enough material for up to seven records. “I know the other guys might hate me for saying that.”

The trio sees Summoning as an ode to 1990s American stoner metal, given such influences as Kyuss, Sleep and Corrosion of Conformity. Amanatullah, who has more of a death-metal background, says the band’s sound was “implied” once the three of them got in the room together to write and record.

“We had the idea of making a kind of stoner psychedelic sound, but the sound itself — we got the riffs from Tom, and it kind of happened,” he adds. “We did a lot of improv — really, just jamming things out and seeing what worked. It was a very natural process versus some of the more modern approaches to writing music, like very formulaic stuff. This was very natural and just kind of happened.”

Murello had never handled lead vocals duties before fronting Cryptic Witch, but he’s enjoyed honing his vocal cords. “It was weird until I put [the mic] through some distortion pedals,” he says, adding that his vocal inspirations include Iggy Pop and Stu Mackenzie of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. “I love singing. It’s so much fun.”

The organic growth of sound has been complemented by Cryptic Witch’s free-flowing creative process. “We’re not a jam band, but we are a jam band,” Murello admits.

The power-trio lineup also allows Klopatek’s bass work to be highlighted more, which is an integral part of the band’s sound, similar to what Al Cisneros does with Sleep and Om.

“With my playing style, I have a lot more space to fill, especially with Tom’s fucking guitar work just flying everywhere and being able to just hold that groove with Conor. It boosts more distortion than I would be able to do with two guitars on bass,” he explains, adding that he uses “the biggest rig a venue will allow,” which makes the music “just as loud as a band with three guitars.”

The three of them agree that their live sound is even fuller than what they put on record.

“We’re not Sunn O))). We don’t make the air move," Murello says. "But we are very loud naturally.”

For the Globe Hall show, Cryptic Witch will play Summoning in its entirety, and also some new, previously unreleased songs.

“We wanted the music to feel the same way if you saw us live," Murello says. "If you like the record, definitely come see us live, because we’re even better."

Cryptic Witch album release show, 7 p.m. Sunday, February 19, Globe Hall, 4483 Logan Street; tickets are $14. Summoning is available on Tuesday, February 14.