Metal Injection

It's a long journey from paying tribute to being tribute-worthy oneself. It's a common pitfall among many artists: hamstringing themselves with their own sense of reverence toward their idols, as if adding something of their own to the combined legacy constitutes an actual diluting of the idol's purity somehow.

Magnus Pelander formed Witchcraft in 2000 with the sole purpose of paying tribute to his two favorite singers: Bobby Liebling (Pentagram) and Roky Erickson (13th Floor Elevators). If he'd have simply covered a song apiece by the two pioneers he might have gotten it all out of his system and moved on to something else; instead Pelander made the novel choice to pen brand new music in the style of his idols, resulting in the belated 2002 single "No Angel or Demon" b/w "You Bury Your Head". The sleeve notes failed to indicate which artist each song was intended for, the implication being that the spirit of both men permeated everything escaping Pelander's pen. (more…)