This Denver Doom Band Gets "Perverted" With Medieval Literature

Sauron’s theme song is certainly epic, but the all-seeing Lord of the Rings doesn’t seem like much of a music fan otherwise. He’s probably more concerned with spreading his hellfire brand of evil all over Middle Earth than finding cool bands for himself and his legions of Orcs to listen to.

But that’s why we’re here — to dig up the good stuff, so even Sauron doesn’t have to scour all of Mordor for kickass tunes. For example, the Denver death-doom group Seed of the Sorcerer, Womb of the Witch (doesn’t that just seem like something Sauron would be into or invoke?) dabbles in Dark Age black magic, too, thanks to vocalist Steven Bogar’s previous college studies of medieval literature.

“There’s a lot of alliteration, some fantasy framework there, then I just try to take that and get a little perverted with it. It’s a fun way to take these occult themes and really tease out the other imagery you see in doom metal,” he explains, adding that “chicks and smoke and skulls” are recurring motifs throughout the band’s catalogue and accompanying stage show. But don’t worry — they’re not actually as insidious or malevolent as the Betrayer.

“Then it’s, ‘What’s a story about that?’ Obviously, everyone’s perverse. Everyone wants to see the naked chicks on the cover. Anytime we print T-shirts that have boobs on them, they sell more," he continues. "We dug into that thematically. We’re not super-serious occultists. We’re just horror-movie fans.”

Glad we could clear that up. Gandalf and the Fellowship can rest assured. While the six-piece isn’t specifically Tolkien-inspired (though there is a legit Lord of the Rings metal subgenre), its new album, Perversion Pyre, is filled with seven twisted tales of necromancy and vileness. Song “Crystal Ball Gag,” which feels like some sort of naughty witch-king kink, is the tamest.

“It was just something we said outside at practice, and we all laughed. We had the title before we had any lyrics,” Bogar says.
But it took longer than expected for Perversion Pyre to come to light, as the band — which also includes drummer Ian Glaha, bassist Ryan Bretsch and guitarists Collin Bridge, Matthew Mitchell and Corey Straight — wrote an entire album before the pandemic downturn.

“It was done. It was ready to go. We were ready to release it, then everything shut down,” Bretsch explains.

The unexpected break gave Seed of the Sorcerer, Womb of the Witch time to reflect, and the group decided to scrap most of the original tracks in favor of four new ones that would eventually become Perversion Pyre, released in September via Philadelphia independent label Grand Vomit Productions.

“When we were done and had the six tracks that would become the album, we all sat back like, ‘Wow, this is what we want to put out,’” Bretsch says, noting that one song that didn’t make the cut, “Necrobongicon,” became a stand-alone single in 2021.

Now the blackened doom sludge outfit is ready to share its sadistic high fantasies with the masses on Saturday, December 28, at HQ. Obscene Worship, Scepter of Eligos and Percipient are also on the bill.

The first and only time  Bogar & Co. played HQ, a little “too much fog” triggered the venue’s fire alarms mid-set, the lead singer admits. “And that wasn’t the first time we’ve done that,” Bretsch adds.

But with a song like “The Ligneous Children of Briarwood,” Seed of the Sorcerer, Womb of the Witch is probably the first doom band that’s singing about 1991 horror comedy Ernest Scared Stupid, complete with its destruction-loving troll. Again, it’s all in fun, which makes the group’s brand of heaviness, including death- and black-metal moments, even more unique.

“We took a big leap in our approach and songwriting. Had we released what was the initial album, it just wouldn’t have at all been representative of where we were at or where we were headed,” Bretsch admits. “We changed so much. It was rough to let go of, but in hindsight, it definitely ended up being the right decision.

“We’re kind of just this thing of our own. I think that’s because of all the different places that we’re coming from,” he continues, adding that there’s more to come, maybe even sooner than anyone expects. “Even with the new album, we started putting things together for a potential EP release. One of them is probably the fastest song we have. One is one of the slowest doom riffs that we’ve written so far. We’re still continuing to evolve, but sticking to our style and our strengths. It’s really come together in the last few years from where we started.”

Since forming in 2017, Seed of the Sorcerer, Womb of the Witch naturally grew into the current six-man setup with a triple-guitar attack, which is nothing but a strength, given each player’s diversity across the fretboard. So at this point, it’s about seeing how far they can take it.

“We’re all about having fun,” Bogar concludes. “The rock bottom of this endeavor is just having fun with my friends.”

Sounds like something Sauron would say.

Seed of the Sorcerer, Womb of the Witch, with Obscene Worship, Scepter of Eligos and Percipient, 7 p.m. Saturday, December 28, HQ, 60 South Broadway. Tickets are $10.