Witchcraft, Early Moods, Psychic Hit
- Bleeding Priest
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
March 3, 2026
Bottom of the Hill
San Francisco, CA
Tuesday night and The Bottom Of The Hill was sold the fuck out! The lineup was Swedish occult rockers Witchcraft, L.A.’s Candlemass worshipping doomsters Early Moods and returning locals Psychic Hit. A solid show any day of the week.
Starting things off were Oakland’s Psychic Hit. This band was quite popular in the SF/Oakland scene pre-pandemic. They played frequently and every time I saw them the place was packed no matter where it was. They had serious momentum happening. Then the world shut down…
In the throes of the pandemic they managed to release a full length, Solutio. And then…nothing. Once the world opened back up, Psychic Hit never really returned. At least not with the gusto the band had in earlier days. In fact it’s been a couple of years since I’ve even heard their name let alone seen it on a bill. I don’t know if this was their first show in a while but it’s certainly the first time I saw them in a long time.
When they hit the stage I noticed right away they’ve had some lineup changes. New bassist and second guitarist perhaps? That would explain the hiatus. They’re just as much the talented and interesting band they were before. I preferred the second half of their set much more than the first. The former was a bit on the melancholy side and lacked some of the energy I remembered the last time I saw them, which was an AWESOME gig at Benders.
By no means was it bad and I still enjoyed it but the last batch of songs was when they truly hit their stride. I don’t know if it was earlier material or what but there was a lot of Maiden influence with the dual guitar lines and an uptempo vibe to the songs. They ended strong and the crowd ate it up. It would be great if they mixed the songs up a bit for a more even live experience in the future.
Up next was the band of the eve (at least in my book), Early Moods. I’ve been following these guys' music for a little while now but never got the chance to see them live. So I was pretty stoked for their set. They did not disappoint.
From the first 5 seconds it was like witnessing Candlemass circa ‘87. If you told me the first song of their set was an unreleased track from the Nightfall sessions I would have believed you. That’s not a slight at all. I can think of a hell of a lot worse bands to emulate.
In fact, more new, young bands should follow Early Moods example. Doom doesn’t have to be a dusty, 70’s vintage gear affair. These guys do it right. Crunching, aggressive riffs played in a complete 80’s Metal fashion. And the vocals just tops the whole thing off bringing the spirit of Messiah Marcolin in voice and look. That’s not to say their whole set sounded like Candlemass. Their love for Pentagram shined through on later tracks as well. It was a great blend of different Doom influences from different eras. They had the crowd in the palm of their hand.
Lastly the headliners, Witchcraft. I have a number of their albums and I’m quite sure I’ve seen them before but I can’t for the life of me seem to remember where. In any case these dudes put on a solid show. I’m not gonna lie, after Early Moods they were kind of “doomed”. Eh? See what I did there?
Witchcraft’s sound seemed a tad tame compared to what just transpired before. After a couple of songs I was getting into it though. The hipsters there LOVED them. I was hoping to hear a song or two from the album Legend but unfortunately I didn’t. That aside, they delivered the goods with their style of what I like to call “spooky candle Rock”.
It was a damn good show from start to finish with a lot of talent on that stage. My hunger for Stoner/Doom Rock/Metal has been satiated for a while. Now…let’s get back to some Thrash….
–Bleeding Priest
