There’s one through-line I’ve discovered over the years when it comes to musical taste: the harder it is to define a band, the more likely I am to be a fan. Case in point: All Them Witches. From their retro-blues roots and the post-rock-tinged psychedelic formative years to the moody, muscular masterpiece that is 2020’s Nothing as the Ideal, the band has covered some impressively diverse ground.
The fun thing about a band that refuses to make the same album twice is that ranking their work feels less like a hierarchy and more like a conversation. There’s no “safe” order here. Ask five fans for their list and you’ll get five completely different answers, each one defensible. That kind of catalog-wide disagreement is rare, and it says something about both the quality and the range of these records.
Founding drummer Robby Staebler’s departure in 2024 doesn’t just mark a personnel change; it closes the book on the lineup that built this catalog from the ground up. And when an era ends, I think it’s only natural to take stock.
Per usual, there are a few caveats I need to get out of the way…
*Caveat Number One: This ranking will only include the band’s studio full-lengths, though there are a handful of B-side gems and fantabulous live albums that anyone even remotely interested in this band should immediately check out. The Baker’s Dozen singles project alone is worth the deep dive, and “Tour Death Song” and “Silver to Rust” are top-tier tracks that could hold their own on any proper release.
**Caveat Number Two: It should go without saying, but I’m going to say it regardless: I’m a massive fan of All Them Witches. Any critique offered here is deeply subjective and reflects personal taste rather than objective quality.
***Caveat Number Three: I’d like to file anything that I’ve written below in the ever-so-subjective ‘prisoner of the moment’ category. As with most things in life, nothing here is set in stone.
Alright, it’s time to get this show on the road.
6. Our Mother Electricity (2012)
Every band has to start somewhere, and Our Mother Electricity is a perfectly respectable somewhere. Self-released (and later reissued via Elektrohasch) in 2012, the debut is a raw, loose, blues-heavy collection that hints at far more than it delivers. And that’s not a knock. The potential on display here is obvious, even if the band was still a ways off from figuring out their sound.
There’s a scrappy charm to the whole thing. The riffs are heavy, the jams are sprawling, and the blues DNA that would weave through every future release is already front and center. What’s easy to forget is that eventual frontman Parks and guitarist McLeod actually split vocal duties here, with McLeod serving as the de-facto front-man for most of the record. Neither voice sounds quite like it will a few records down the line, and that’s kind of the point.
More than anything, Our Mother Electricity sounds young. And honestly? That’s the real draw. This isn’t the locked-in, telepathic unit that would go on to record at Abbey Road. It’s four guys figuring things out in real time.
This is a hella fun listen, no question. But it’s also the one album in the catalog that feels most removed from the band they’d grow into. Essential for completionists and curious fans tracing the arc, but hardly the first place I’d send a newcomer.
Am I Going Up? (Highlights)
“Heavy/Like a Witch” and “Elk.Blood.Heart” are the obvious draws here, with the latter featuring soon-to-be-frontman Charles Michael Parks on lead vocals. The band has all but abandoned most of this material, but when something from this record slips into the live set, it’s usually one of these.
Where It Falls Apart (Lowlights)
Honestly, there’s little here to gripe about. The main thing working against Our Mother Electricity is the quality of everything that follows. Songs like “Guns” and “Until It Unwinds” are competent enough, but ultimately feel like a foundation for far more adventurous things to come.
Diamond (Best Deep Cut)
“Right Hand” deserves way more attention than it gets. It’s one of the earliest signs that this band was capable of building atmosphere, not just pentatonic volume. Honorable mention goes to the brilliant Parks ballad “Family Song for the Leaving.”
Everest (Favorite Musical Moment)
The only thing better than the solo that begins about three minutes into “Right Hand” is the outro solo that brings the song home. Just next-level playing from Ben McLeod.
Calling to the Gods (Favorite Lyrical Moment)
And I hope you found / That I hold all the keys to open up / Every single door – “Elk.Blood.Heart”
5. Lightning at the Door (2013)
Lightning at the Door is where All Them Witches really started to dial things in. Originally self-released via Bandcamp (and later picked up by New West), the sophomore effort was a massive leap forward on all fronts.
Most notably, this is the album where Charles Michael Parks Jr. emerged as the band’s primary vocalist. McLeod delivered a perfectly serviceable performance for the majority of Our Mother Electricity, but Parks’ distinctive voice fundamentally changed things for the band.
It’s easy to understand why this album is so cherished by longtime fans. For many, this was the entry point, and songs like “When God Comes Back” and “Marriage of Coyote Woman” are genuine early-career highlights. But, with mid-tempo instrumental passages dominating so much of the record, this is less a collection of songs and more a cover-to-cover musical statement. Which is great, of course. It just so happens to be an approach All Them Witches would further refine (and perfect) with Dying Surfer Meets His Maker.
Am I Going Up? (Highlights)
The thunderous, “Black Dog”-indebted “When God Comes Back,” the moody “Marriage of Coyote Woman,” and the mid-tempo, groove-infused “Charles Williams” are the clear highlights here. All were instant fan-favorites and between the three you get a great sense of everything this band is about.
Where It Falls Apart (Lowlights)
There’s a fine line between exploring and navel-gazing; of all the eight-minute-plus epics in the band’s catalog, “Swallowed by the Sea” is probably the band at its most meandering.
Diamond (Best Deep Cut)
Bookending a meditative Parks vocal with a pair of frenetic instrumental barrages, “The Death of Coyote Woman” is a quiet showcase for the band’s love for unorthodox, multi-part arrangements.
Everest (Favorite Musical Moment)
After an album-side of mid-tempo-ness, the riff that kicks in at the five minute mark of “Mountain” hits like a ten-ton sledgehammer.
Calling to the Gods (Favorite Lyrical Moment)
I would walk forever / Just to know you / Give me a place / And I will bless these walls – “Mountain”
4. Dying Surfer Meets His Maker (2015)
Dying Surfer Meets His Maker might just be the most immersive record in the whole ATW catalog. The lore here is impressive: recorded in six days in a remote cabin overlooking Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Not surprisingly, the album sounds isolated, atmospheric, and completely immersed in its own world. It also marks the first time where the band’s sonic identity didn’t feel like a work in progress.
Produced by Mikey Allred (who would later return for Nothing as the Ideal), Dying Surfer… finds the band stretching out for long musical stretches, flirting with psyche-rock territory for much of the album. The instrumental-heavy approach ultimately leads to a record that can often feel like the band caught a really tight jam session on tape. Of course, for some fans, this is as good as it gets. It’s certainly not the most accessible point of entry, but for listeners willing to meet it on its own terms, this album delivers and then some.
Am I Going Up? (Highlights)
“Call Me Star” is a monster of an opener, and “Dirt Preachers” is easily one of tightest, most to-the-point rockers the band had penned. “Open Passageways” is in contention for the band’s best acoustic-driven song.
Where It Falls Apart (Lowlights)
They’re cool enough tracks, but following up a couple of the record’s stronger songs with a pair of epic (and kinda meandering) instrumentals is as bold as it is baffling. Cut either (or both) of them in half and I think this album flows so much better.
Diamond (Best Deep Cut)
“Blood and Sand/Milk and Endless Waters” might be the album-closer here, but “Talisman” is easily the record’s emotional climax. If there’s a hot take to be found in this whole article, it’s probably this: I probably would’ve opted to end Dying Surfer Meets His Maker one track sooner.
Everest (Favorite Musical Moment)
Staebler’s Bonham-esque drumming on “Call Me Star.” They really captured something special in terms of sonics on this one.
Calling to the Gods (Favorite Lyrical Moment)
Talisman / Every stone I can turn / Every stream I held in my arms – Talisman
3. ATW (2018)
Self-titled albums tend to carry a certain weight. Whether intentional or not, they tend to imply a definitive statement, a summary of who the band is at that moment in time. And, for the most part, 2018’s ATW does exactly that.
Coming off the band’s most polished full-length to date (Sleeping Through the War), 2018’s ATW stripped things back considerably. Self produced (by guitarist Ben McLeod), the album was definitely a ‘back-to-basics’ affair, with most of the album sporting an ‘off the floor’ feel. It also arrived during a period of lineup turbulence: Allan Van Cleave had departed, Jonathan Draper briefly stepped in on keys, and the band would soon announce they were continuing as a three-piece.
That kind of instability doesn’t always show up in the music, but you definitely feel the band recalibrating. The result is a very good record that frustratingly falls just shy of great.
Am I Going Up? (Highlights)
“Diamond” is the obvious standout here, basically perfecting an idea the band had been circling since day one. Evoking shades of Burn-era Purple, “Fishbelly 86 Onions” would probably feel like a ridiculous/throwaway song title if the thing didn’t rock so hard.
Where It Falls Apart (Lowlights)
Despite its ‘sorta-single’ status,”Workhorse” is the one track that (for this listener) consistently feels like it’s missing something, and while I’m sure there are many who disagree, I maintain that “Harvest Feast” would benefit from a much tighter edit.
Diamond (Best Deep Cut)
This band has some mind-blowingly good album-closers, but “Rob’s Dream” is at the top of a very strong list.
Everest (Favorite Musical Moment)
The seamless flow of the album’s second half. When ATW locks in, it locks in. It just takes a while to get there.
Calling to the Gods (Favorite Lyrical Moment)
Dagger and a sword / Just to be with me / Shadow in the dark / Only groves calling – “Rob’s Dream”
2. Sleeping Through the War (2017)
Sleeping Through the War is what happens when you hand a great band to a great producer and let the sparks fly. Fresh off the heels of working with the likes of Chris Stapleton and Rivals Sons, future-Lady Gaga producer Dave Cobb’s fingerprints are all over this thing, leading to arguably the most polished, sonically rich record in the All Them Witches catalog.
And that production really does elevate the material. Songs that might have landed as solid album cuts in another context become genuinely memorable here. The low end is massive, the guitars shimmer and snarl in equal measure, and the numerous guest appearances (Caitlin Rose, Erin Rae, Tristen on vocals, Mickey Raphael on harmonica) add color without cluttering the picture. Everything sounds expensive and intentional without ever crossing the line into (gasp) overproduced.
The songwriting holds up its end of the bargain, too. The album is packed with strong, well-constructed tracks that showcase the band’s range. It’s heavy when it needs to be, delicate when it wants to be, and confident throughout. For a lot of fans, this is the definitive All Them Witches record, and it’s hard to argue with the logic.
Am I Going Up? (Highlights)
“Bulls” is just tremendous, thanks in no small part to that massive chorus, while “Bruce Lee” and “Am I Going Up” are some of the catchiest material the band has ever recorded. Oh, and let’s not forget about the genius that is “Alabaster.” Frankly, most of this record feels like a highlight.
Where It Falls Apart (Lowlights)
“Internet” is a fine enough song in isolation, but as a closer, it feels like a bit of an afterthought. After a record that builds and builds with such purpose, the finale just doesn’t quite stick the landing. It’s a minor quibble on an otherwise stellar album, but in a catalog this strong, minor quibbles are what separate the great from the greatest.
Diamond (Best Deep Cut)
“3-5-7” is the unsung hero here, and a shining example of just how much the production elevates things. Honorable mention goes to “Cowboy Kirk,” a sneaky interesting jam of a song that I just never tire of hearing. This is where the album should have ended.
Everest (Favorite Musical Moment)
That whole solo section in “Cowboy Kirk” is just so, so good…from the understated solo to the waves of feedback, the whole thing just feels like new ground for the band. This was the record where McLeod’s playing really seemed to solidify into something distinct.
Calling to the Gods (Favorite Lyrical Moment)
I know my father’s face / Every day they look more and more like me – “Alabaster”
1. Nothing as the Ideal (2020)
Here’s the thing about Nothing as the Ideal: it shouldn’t work this well. By 2020, the band had shed a keyboardist, briefly added and then parted ways with his replacement, and trimmed down to a three-piece. The sessions took place at Abbey Road Studios (Studio Two, no less), a setting that could easily overwhelm a band still figuring out its new identity. And the album dropped in September 2020, a release window that guaranteed zero touring support in a world that had ground to a halt.
None of that matters. Nothing as the Ideal is pretty much a flawless record.
For the first time in their career, All Them Witches found the perfect balance. Not necessarily between heavy & soft, psych & blues, or even between instrumental exploration and tight songwriting, though the album nails all of those things. The balance here is something that’s a little harder to pin down. It’s the sound of a band that finally knows exactly what it is, and delivers on every front without a single wasted moment.
“Saturnine & Iron Jaw” opens the record like a mission statement. It’s a perfect summation of everything the band had done up to that point. “Enemy of My Enemy” is probably the band’s best example of a stoner rock workout, the kind of fist-pumping anthem that actually (finally?) satisfies that often ill-fitting genre tag. “Everest” is a flawless instrumental. And then there’s the expansive, almost-hypnotic “See You Next Fall” that feels like it’s half as long as it really is.
On the flipside, “The Children of Coyote Woman” brings the melancholic balladry while “41” and “Lights Out” give a nice little dose of moody heft to the final stretch. Finally, the album-closing “Rats in Ruin” is the very definition of epic: moody, building, patient, with a glorious mountain-top guitar solo that earns every second of its arrival.
This album sounds incredible. The band is in peak form, tight when they need to be, loose when the moment calls for it. Mikey Allred’s production (his second collaboration with the band after Dying Surfer) captures everything with clarity and warmth. Oh, and Parks gives a career-performance behind the mic. It’s the rare album where every single element feels exactly where it belongs.
Am I Going Up? (Highlights)
Pick a track. “Saturnine & Iron Jaw” as a statement of intent. “Enemy of My Enemy” as the anthem. “See You Next Fall” as the nearly ten-minute centerpiece that just might be the band’s quintessential song. “Everest” as proof that instrumentals can be just as emotionally devastating as anything with lyrics.
Where It Falls Apart (Lowlights)
Pass. Slim pickings when it comes to flaws on this one.
Diamond (Best Deep Cut)
“41” is a great example of what Nothing as the Ideal does so well. Pairing a de-tuned riff with an acoustic-driven verse/moody chorus combo, the song is a masterclass in tension and release. It’s heavy and delicate in the same breath, and the fact that it never fully commits to either side is exactly what makes it work.
Everest (Favorite Musical Moment)
The guitar solo in “Rats in Ruin.” You feel it building for minutes, you know it’s coming, and it still manages to exceed expectations every single time.
Calling to the Gods (Favorite Lyrical Moment)
St. Michael’s sword is just a hurricane being born / In the valley / and the lightning spoke – “The Children of Coyote Woman”
Parting Thought
With a solid catalog of releases under their collective belts and a new album on the way, it’ll be fascinating to see where All Them Witches go next. The departure of Robby Staebler closes one chapter, but if the early live reports from the House of Mirrors tour are any indication, the band has no interest in looking backward. Their evolution from blues-soaked jam band to one of the most compelling rock acts of their generation has been remarkable to watch, and each album has found them pushing their boundaries while maintaining their essential character. That’s no easy feat, and it suggests their best work might still be ahead of them.
Editor’s Note: House of Mirrors is coming (or already out, depending on when you read this). I have thoughts. I will likely have more. Check back for an update,
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