High noon. In my imagination, as the sun reaches its peak in the sky, gun-slinging dudes in Western gear engage in a winner-take-all duel. The Lollapalooza equivalent of such pronounced machismo must be Orebro Sweden’s Witchcraft, whose 70s Black Sabbath inspired psychedelic riffs rifled through the air with the flamboyance of a gang of sharpshooters in “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West.”

No cowboys here, though, and for that matter, not many metalheads. I only tallied three Pentagram T-shirts in the crowd of several hundred (including one on a band member), a low number which still seems as odd for a “doom metal” show as it is to watch one in the daytime.

The long-haired four-piece engaged their steadily growing audience who banged their heads right along with the band as they rattled through their 30-minute set which included a number of tracks from last year’s The Alchemist (Rise Above).

Adding to the overall manly effect of the performance, singer Magnus Peelander partook in some very King Kong-like chest beating during closing number “Queen of Beasts,” with a big smile on his face like the Kong himself used to woo Fay Wray. I walked away with an equally big smile, though secretly wishing that Lollapalooza had booked more hard rock and less indie rock.

-Jamie Ludwig

Witchcraft video: “Chylde of Fire”
Witchcraft: www.witchcrafthome.com