Evidently, Virginia is the most evil and wicked state of them all. Sure, that Tom Jefferson guy was a Virginian, but it's the state that spawned PENTAGRAM; therefore it must be populated with more witchy women and drug-addled freaks than any other state in the union. These days, about an hour northwest of PENTAGRAM-land, the shy and retiring sounds of OL' SCRATCH can be found annihilating the silence.

This latest and mysteriously-titled EP is a tempting purchase for any fan of doom or sludge because every song has at least one fantastic riff. "Wizard Smoke" putts along on a tight bassline and subsonic rumbles a la EARTHRIDE. "Infernal Judgement" crawls like an earthmover, harmonized guitars weaving in and out of tandem around a crude, nasty chug. "Bottom Basement" sounds like a BONGZILLA tribute, complete with the mandatory spoken anti-weed samples. The only thing we can complain about is the disc's brevity at four songs, so take a break from the Relapse website and look these guys up before their girlfriends put a hex on your ass.

- Marchman

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/olscratch

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