Dark Matter

Sisteria

Horton Records, 2022

http://www.sisteriaband.com

REVIEW BY: John Mulhouse

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 09/01/2022

Much of the press and promotional material surrounding Norman, Oklahoma’s Sisteria references bands like Heart and Led Zeppelin—the former due to the phenomenal range and power of vocalist Katie Williams, and the latter due to the bluesy stomp that propels many of the songs on their debut record Dark Matter. This is dangerous territory to tread in 2022, over 50 years after Led Zeppelin I was released and countless bands have tried to conjure a similar artistic and commercial success from the same basic elements.

As it turns out, any fears of rehash are dispelled immediately as the first song of the record, “Wade My Way,” veers quickly from an admittedly Zeppelinesque opening to something far more singular, thanks in large part to Williams’ willingness to add more than a little grit and aggression to what is one heck of a voice. Expressive and defiant, she demands attention. The band also sound more than game to keep things from getting too clean as guitars crackle and static seeps in around the edges. A second guitar—sometimes bowed—adds texture (while somehow avoiding the obvious Zep comparison), and an organ fills out the sound. Occasional flashes of doom point toward not just Sabbath but the subgenre itself.

“Hunger” follows in a similarly stomping vein with Williams’ voice seemingly free of any sort of limitation, the song ending in a fit of wailing and moaning. And if that sounds like Robert Plant, well, I’ll get to that in a moment.

Williams was a folk singer before a temporary move to Albuquerque prompted a turn toward harder music. Having spent a number of years in that city myself, I can attest to the prominence of metal in the high desert. “Om/Yes,” on the other hand, shifts gears a bit to feature that folk background with a decidedly Celtic turn that then breaks down into a bit of noise overlaid with screams and howls.

Musically and lyrically, it’s this experimental element that raises Sisteria above the classic rock comparisons, making them both a more challenging listen and, ultimately, a more satisfying one. I would consider them more aligned with the outsider metal bands I saw coming through Albuquerque myself, particularly female-fronted groups like Acid King, Windhand, and Witch Mountain. my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

It can be all-too-easy to compare female-led bands to others, but there is something undeniably powerful about women’s place in heavy music currently, and Sisteria is yet further evidence. Of course, the band name makes that connection itself, and fans of Emma Ruth Rundle, Chelsea Wolfe, and dark-folksinger Marissa Nadler will also find something to dig into here. Like the aforementioned, Sisteria channel plenty of darkness (any of two or three interpretations of the album title are surely correct), but similarly find the beauty and power in making something positive out of the shadows that is both healing for the creator and can be shared with the likeminded. Alchemy, you might say, and this is frequently witchy music.

Both “Pale in the Darkness” and “Star Child,” embody the experimentalism and exploration, both musically and emotionally, that make Dark Matter a very contemporary listen. These are lengthy songs that demand some attention to understand. The haunting lyrics of “Pale in the Darkness,” about burning—and ultimately rising—witches, for example, could slip past but they do not sound meant to be in any way metaphorical or fantastical. “Star Child” aims for outer space, taking its time to get there ala Hawkwind, and ending with a bit of backward masking.   

The next two songs, “Winter Crow” and “Ramblin’ Woman,” step back slightly to allow for some breathing room. Both are lovely tunes, allowing Williams’ voice plenty of space to swoop and soar. I would suspect there are Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span records in the collections of Sisteria, the Celtic influence bubbling up occasionally throughout the album.

On the vinyl, “Reaper” is the final track, another blues workout with spooky organ, a quiet bass interlude, and a scream or two. It brings to mind Sabbath again, which is the wellspring of much heavy music, before slowly fading away. 

“Burial Ground” is a bonus track on the CD, and while it’s hard not to want things to finish with another rocker, the song is ambient and experimental, featuring disembodied voices amid toms, electronic noises, and scratching instruments that eventually build to a brief climax before quickly dissolving again. As much as I like to rock, it’s the right way to end the longer format CD, pushing in the direction of that experimentalism and less-straightforward expression.

All-told, this is a record—and a band—that could easily find themselves getting plenty of attention. There is some mass appeal here, no doubt about it. But if there’s one thing we’ve all learned lately, it’s that no one knows what might happen next, and, for now, this is the sound of a band quickly finding rare strengths and pushing at the edges of them to see what might lie beyond. I hope that what is easily one of the best new bands of 2022 keeps pushing for years to come.  

As a postscript, this album was released by Horton Records, a non-profit label whose stated aim is to “help Oklahoma musicians fulfill their artistic goals and further promote local and regional music on a broader scale,” an added bonus to purchasing a most worthy release. And in the interest of full disclosure: I now live in Norman myself but had never heard of Sisteria or Katie Williams until the label contacted the Daily Vault. Blame the pandemic.

Rating: A

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