Burning Saviours - Death (2018)

  

Burning Saviours is a name familiar to people following the doom metal scene and rightfully so. You don't simply name yourself after one of the best Pentagram songs and disappoint (or maybe you do, who knows, I am sure there are examples out there). To this day, now including their newest release simply titled: "Death", Burning Saviours have added another immaculate title to their excellent, A-level doom metal catalogue. A thirty-five minutes of brooding, lingering, godless doom perfection.

For those unfamiliar with the band, Burning Saviours hail from Örebro, Sweden, a place which has also blessed us with the famous hardrock/traditional doom suspects Witchcraft, as well as quite a few succesful stoner rock outfits, for those of you who care for a cheeky reference. I guess you could say the band is from the second wave of doom (or third, who ever can keep record of those things) and have been around long enough to have released, in their case, four full-length albums before "Death". As it turns out, I am a bit of a fossil myself as I remember listening to their self-titled album and thinking it sounded quite fresh. It was, of course, released in 2005 when such sound definitely seemed like some fresh breeze, before the so many clones emerged in the swampy waters of the Swedish scene. Surely hearing the warm analogue-reminscent guitar tone and Mikael Monks sounding oh-god-so-much like Bobby Liebling was quite the wow factor. Having that in mind, Burning Saviours haven't by any means changed directions drastically, still keeping the same nostalgic, proto-hardrock sound and analogue vibes with reference to those of us who dig us some seventees sound. I feel like the music has gotten heavier and heavier, though, to culminate into the lamentenius, bewildering, mystic goodness which is the record I am reviewing today.  

Let's take "Death" as more of a soundscape than just music. 'Draug' opens up the gates of the wretched land it has set in its own doomspace to walk you through the grim land of everything foul and distant, while fog-like miasmal substances in the air take your soul through this land to lead you on an epic journey of self-realisation and inevitable death.. and Oh, no! You can't see the end of it: "Death has come for you tonight!". Acoustic guitar leads the way, then punishing Sabbath riffage breaks in for some fast realisation that you have smelled the stench of death and have to run. The guitar is typical of traditional doom with more or less a repetitive mid-paced riffage which breaks in in all the right places to introduce some theatrical element while working in perfect unison with the clean vocals. The second track, 'Crusade of Evil' is the more upbeat, more rowdy battle-tune, which in doom often predisposes you and prepares you for historically-themed lyrics of templers, soldiers, etc. taking over some sort of mystic foreign land. Hell yeah, this horse-hoof thundering melody could be heavy metal but is still pained in the darker overtones of doom. After about four of five listens of the album I can say, hands down, the third track, 'Nothing After' is in my top 3 favourite tracks of the album, and favourite Burning Saviours songs ever, probably my favourite of all with the extremely well-executed lyrics that are presented to you as some sort of punishing sermon:  

"There is no Light to Carry you home!

You are about to Die Alone" .. " 

This is followed by the first longer solo of the album, to add for the perfectly-fitting increasing melancholy. 'Lamentations' is also more upbeat and hoarse vocally, with a classic doom riff, to set the mood for a contender for my favourite tune of the album, or maybe second favourite (will have to split places with 'Nothing After') - 'Death'. The vocals tell the convincing truth that some of us are always on the losing side, or maybe we are all on the losing side because 'no choice is given, you just have to go, the sky turns to grey' since the black winged creatures will take us all eventually. "Death" exits the album with true grace and perfection in the form of largely acoustically-led 'Silence' and 'Finally free', the dream-like tales of forgotten pasts or to be forgotten presents? Melodies that sound like minor-chorded final releases.

The only way I can describe Burning Saviours is: "Joy through Sadness".   

Listen and support: 

Freeways - Cold Front EP (2017)

 

Do you like classic rock from the seventies? Not reinvented with the newer overtone of stoner wah wah pedals or 'vintage rock' vibes from the 2010s? Freeways is a new classic rock band that offers a really cool take on modern rock music. I am writing this review for them because they strike with the fact that they do not sound like the rest of the bands from the last years who try to make vintage sounding rock. Surely, it makes no sense to put all of these bands under one umbrella, especially since some of those folks have done a great job. That whole wave of vintage rock has given us some really sweet ass bands - Witchcraft, Horisont, Troubled Horse, Kadavar, to name some of the most popular suspects. Probably for various reasons, Freeways do not sound like any one of them. The most obvious ones being: they are not from Europe (Sweden and Germany, wink wink), and second, the music on the Cold Front EP is a lot closer to NWBHM than any of the new retro bands that have more in common with stoner rock. They could appeal to your dad, they could appeal to your buddy in rock guitar class. There is no way on Earth to tell that this is new music, and honestly, if I had no image or information and just music in my mental picture, I would have guessed something in the lines of the first Iron Maiden albums, music era-wise. Hell, even their only release is on tape.

Freeways also have the definite Canadian rock vibe about them. Did I already mention the band is Canadian? The vocals on "New Drag City" remind me wildly of the vocals delivered by Jason from Cauldron on the latest Cauldron albums, I even had to go and check if he has anything to do with this band. The EP is somewhat relaxed, a bit like something you would put in your truck CD player and drive to, through a desert starry night. What is missing for me is some more raw energy, but maybe the mellower, softer, and also warmer guitar tone was what they had been going for. The band I can think of sound-wise while listening to this EP is Free, from the 1969-1970 Free period. Less catchy and mainstream than Free's big chorus songs and without the blues guitar. Perhaps, more of a mixture with some Blue Oyster Cult rawer guitar riffing. And as I said, they definitely possess the NWBHM vibe of the less popular bands.


 

Go dig yourself some loose rock'n'rolling and boogieing.

Check them here and support: https://heavychainsrecords.com/shop/tapes/freeways-cold-front/

The Munsens - Abbey Rose (2016)

The Munsens are one of the last cool things since doom stopped being cool. Alright now, between me and you, doom has never been cool and that might as well be the best thing about it. No forced fans, no dressed up clowns as the ones you can find in your regular NWBHM festival. But around the end of 2014-2015 it gained quite a lot of attention, even from more mainstream metal magazines and not only. All of this hugely due to Electric Wizard's mainstream success. You start going to your typical classic metal festivals and find people in flares, talking about how great Reverend Bizarre are. What the hell was that, the zombie apocalypse finally unleashing? On one hand, that's good for the music - more fans, more people get inspired to create music and so on. However, this of course brought with itself a thousand female-fronted "retro" bands (now who will be the first to say I am sexist), cheesy vocals, mall chicks into fashion thinking they are super retro and posting more selfies on instagram than I could count. But hey, even that's fine with me, as long as there's a lot of good music out there. But guess what, everything in life is cyclic and the waters of doom got stuck in the swamp of unoriginality. Waiting for maybe a different time to return with full power?

The Munsens have the old breed. They play this slow, super slow, out of their gut wretched doom metal that I happened to treasure dearly. When you say to someone who is not a classic doom fan - this is "slow metal", in their head that usually means 'regular'. No. The Munsens are slower than that. Bad quality of music but good bad. And if you're reading this, you do probably know what I mean. No stupid polishes, everything is served raw. "Abbey rose"'s cover artwork is only black and white and so is the music behind it. The scenery it depicts reminds you of a London street where Jack the Ripper might show from around the corner and great you with his knife. These bleak sceneries somehow perfectly link with the down-tuned guitars and bass induced sound. No positive vibes, just the perfect recipe for a very nihilistic doom. This being in no way old school death, I was thinking that there are some similarities though, in the kind of taste this EP leaves in your mouth. The sound is very simple, in fact, a mediocre amateur musician like me can hear the riffs pretty accurately, masked by some thick delay and reverse. You could record this with your Blackstar and a pedal but that doesn't make it any bit less atmospheric. Would recommend it for fans of Windhand, Graves at Sea.

If you happen to have the first EPs too, I think in comparison Abbey Rose is even better. Already being a huge fan of "Weight of the night" and "Slave", I can easily tell that Abbey is catchy after only the first listen, while it takes some time for the first two EPs to grow on you. One idea less raw and garagy. Hands down, one of my top 3 releases for 2016.

https://themunsensnj.bandcamp.com/

Shrine - Goat Skin Rite EP (2012)

Nobody likes to read a review the size of a PhD thesis when it comes to reviewing black thrash and I'm not going to be exceptionally funny so I'd keep it short and to the point.

Shrine are a fairly new band (e. metallum says they exist since 2011) and hail from Germany. Unlike the more famous rock'n'roll/hardrock bunch from California (The Shrine), just 'Shrine' have the status of a nobody knows us but we don't care kind of band, which I couldn't even find on the social media; so great, you have the obscurity status - what about the music?

I've heard several hundred new bands, trying to sound evil or exceptionally NWBHM-Enforcer kind of style but a huge part of those fall into the trap of being funny, fake, or just trying too hard. Here you don't have that. The production of the album is on the level of Euronymous's garage recordings and the abysmal stench is as strong as if you sit in a cemetery and have a cold beer with a fresh corpse.

Personally I really dig the tiny 'intros' of the songs, they sorta set the horror mood in. Carnivore's (ex-Cruel Force) vocals sound like your usual black thrash vocals but perhaps leaning more towards the black side rather than thrash. The riffs run super fast like you'd expect in mid Darkthrone era and pace mid-tempo from time to time. The drums are usually more or less buried under the guitar, which pulls off quite an old school effect.

I'd recommend this as it is fucking archaic and smells like miasmal graves. No panzers, no divisions, no people.

Samsara Blues Experiment - Waiting for the Flood (2013)

Samsara Blues Experiment, the ultimately fitting, possibly the most suitable name anyone could come up with for such a brain-melting belter of a union of a few humans, who may indeed be human but their music is totally out of this space.  Wanna see Buddha dancing to blues rock jams? Tie your belt. The third full length album of the band presents you their most psychedelic mediative form of rock'n'roll to date in their catalogue. Samsara, the cycles of rebirth in Hinduism and the never-ending blues jams have fused here to give birth to a stellar guitar-solos ridden record that I've happened to play so many times this week, it's unhealthy.

A few things make this band and in our case, record, very special for me, different from most bands mixing blues and stoner rock. To start with, the vocals are unique, and when I use this adjective I really mean it, you can't hear another dude to sound even remotely similar to Christian Peters. He has this empowering intensity in his voice that can throw you five miles away when he uses his voice to recite something loud like in Shringara, track one. Okay, maybe he's not reciting it in the most literal sense of the verb, but he sounds so powerful like the preaching of some high Hindu god. The guy makes the words sound like they come from the centre of the universe and they have the power to hit you hard even if you're not five miles high, resonating to the Earth and back to the black hole Scorpio where they come from. Peters's voice on "Waiting for the flood" is ranging from this slow-paced intense reciting to mellower and even slower to fit the guitar tone in the best way possible. At moments when he asks what if doom is here to stay, you really sit on your darn ass and think about it.

Another big highlight is the use of sitar and harp. Fuck knows sitar's use in stoner rock is the best instrument to make the gap between the listener and nirvana smaller. Samsara are one of the few bands that, being by the use of such instruments or whatnot, manage to invoke mountainous landscapes and the never-melting snow of Himalaya in your head, even if you just sit on your bed and stare at the ceiling. The quiet continuos presence of the sitar drone, layered with Behren's bass vibe and Eiselt's warm guitar sound create a wave that you can sleep on, waiting to be carried and awoken on some Eastern shore. Blues harmonics, double chorus, this album doesn't come short of fantastic at any point, both sides having it's more hard hitting and mellower points alike.

Just when I listened to this album ten times or more, I happened to notice that actually there is no song shorter than ten minutes. Take that, four tracks, overall length is around 45 minutes and you never notice because it all flows perfectly. But words are only harm and I can do this much to describe, check out "Waiting for the flood" for more accurate information.

Obsidian Sea - Dreams, Illusions, Obsessions (2015)

As you probably have noticed, or perhaps you don’t really care, until very recently there weren’t too many acts in the Bulgarian underground scene that revolved around doom metal. However, in the last few years there’s been a glimpse of light in the cave and a few bands have awoken the field to some extent. And as you can imagine, sometimes the best music comes from the places where you expected to find it the least.

Obsidian Sea released their first demo in 2010 and I remember someone telling me about a tape by a doom metal band from Sofia, Bulgaria that I was “going to enjoy”, because it was very oldschool or something like that. I remember this sparkled my interest a lot, as I thought no more than two people liked doom in Bulgaria and I was one of them. I was surprised a lot because the tape consisted of some really purist traditional doom metal. It was good, it was rough and of course there was a lot to be desired, but I want to highlight what impressed me the most - that was the presence of a good taste in music. Once you have the right approach, I believe you can achieve a lot. Of course, what is right and wrong approach could be debated forever, but let’s face it - if you like Edguy and try to create traditional doom, you might as well fall in your own trap like a ballerina with a broken toe.

The debut album that followed two years later was good, I remember particularly liking some of the ending solos. What was in the tape was in the album – roughness of sound, traditional doom, harsh atmosphere, but there was something lacking for it to appeal to people largely, I guess. I remember the songwriting in two songs was really neat, it did hold a promise for something better, but it was somewhat stale in some other tracks, which kinda prevents the album from flowing. Now, at least for me, ‘Dreams, Illusions, Obsessions’ has what the previous album lacked in many aspects.

To start with, it does sound more mature – like a fucking fruit you finally waited to become ripe. The sun, the wind and the rain finally settled in to give it a taste. The sound is thicker, richer; probably one idea less rough (everyone is sorry that this is not Burzum) but still could mislead you that it was recorded in the 80s. I believe the bass section is a very prominent ingredient that was previously missing. It's not greasy and too audible like you'd expect in some typical sludge and stoner albums, but it does add for the overall depth of sound. The atmosphere is more haunting, more prominent; the album feels like it has a spirit of its own, it is searching, looking to reach for somewhere. It does remind me in some ways of the better Italian doom bands. The music itself sounds like it is the ghost of someone mentally tortured that has returned to haunt where it belonged first. I am not really sure what the lyrics are about, but if most songs had one main character, it would be that of someone confused and continuously crashing in his own consciousness. The opener track is more upbeat, angry, with a riff that promises to burn what it catches on the way and then slows down to tell its story. What stands out in the very beginning is that a lot of the songs could be cut to fit in an Italian olschool horror film in the suspense moments.  I can see a blooded pale hand holding a knife above Edwige Fenech’s throat to the sounds of ‘The Fatalist’. The guitar tone is really thick and warm and the mixing is quite good, but what makes this album greater than its predecessor is the songwriting, with some songs like “Child in the tower” being particularly catchy and memorable. I would put down as my own favourites – ‘The Trial of Herostratus’, ‘Mulkurul’ and ‘The Fatalist”. Check out those delicious riffs:

https://obsidian-sea.bandcamp.com/track/the-trial-of-herostratus-2

Inner Altar - Vol I (2015)

Oh well, well. I've not published anything on here for ages. Partly because I've lived in a laboratory, partly because I wasn't very inspired. The smoke and shades of the grey buildings I've been surrounded by in the recent months have killed the poet.

But here I am again, listening to this stunner of a traditional doom metal album/EP by a band who just released it and is freshly brewed in Kansas City. So I thought this is a good day (night!) to praise some boys who know their trade. The hour of the witch just stroke and I have the perfect soundtrack for it.

Inter Altar sound a bit like all (almost all) bands you can find among my reviews and better than some of them. They have this pinch of southern breeze that can take you anywhere, any of the summer islands and it can change to a hard wind and take you to any ruined fortress of the North. Fantasy doom, anyone? It is proper old school traditional doom with dreamy vocals, the kind of vocals you would expect your olde favourite vocalist to do but instead he is taking his kids to kindergarden and posting on facebook. The vocalist of Inner Alter brings something old to the table, but with new blood.

This Vol. I is absolutely flawless - it is a mixture of nice, slow, medieval court yard songs and it is the sound of crashing blades at the same time. The riffs are strong, catchy and rich. Most songs sound a lot like Reverend Bizarre, althought, considerably lighter and shorter. I like my doom to sound like I own a castle and live in a forest. So here you go.

Vol.I would be released officially on tape by Ritual Knife Records. You can check this beauty and lend a hand to these folks by purchasing the music for a reasonable price from the band's bandcamp page.

Blood Farmers - Headless Eyes (2014)

It's a late night, I'm tired from a prolonged period filled with indecent bands in the doom 'scene' and as hardly something these days captures my attention enough so that I'd be bothered to write a review, I'll stop myself on a band that really deserves your and my time - Blood Farmers.

You thought correctly (or you were from the bigger amount of people who didn't), they are very likely named after one of the pinnacles of low budget crappy horror cinema – “The Invasion of the Blood Farmers” (1972) and that suits them quite well I'd say; with the only exception in the quality of material. Because low budget or not, “Headless eyes” is a damn stellar example of doom.

Being quite a big doom metal fan and whatnot, I'd say that Blood Farmers are the best thing out there that this kind of music has to offer these days. No exceptions. No wizards, no bongs, this is the real deal. While many of the titans, for example Electric wizard, (since already mentioned) have lost their grip and other veterans chose to drink tea on their English porches and take care of business matters, the band present here still has this kicking guts atmosphere that all of us traditional doom lovers cherish. If you like oldschool Hammer films and old comics to go with your music, you might enjoy this even more. 

The tunes present possess all these bits and pieces that would make them perfect to be the soundtrack of a suspension moment in films like "Susperia" and *put the name of your favourite Argento movie here*. These men have really made it hard for new Italian composers to top the tunes present on "Headless eyes". If any director of a cheap horror wants to use the best soundtrack possible, just spin something like "The Creeper" or "Night of the Sorcerers" and they'd be bought and sold. While this album might not be extremely heavy in the common way heavy is understood, it is truly exceptional and may I add, a level up the class of the bands' previous albums. My personal favourite is the self-titled track, with its atmosphere that screams 'an old Victorian house with creaking staircase' and absolutely amazing solo guitar. Generally, there is not that much psychedelia on this track as on the rest, but it is still fucking perfect. The two ending ones are also 10/10, absolute classics of psychedelic rock/doom. 

It's quite exciting for me that music like that is still made in 2014. Maybe the times are not as dark as they seem when you watch the local store's music magazine covers. What are you waiting for? Go check it out, scare yourself!

https://bloodfarmers.wordpress.com/

Horseskull - Horseskull (2014)

In the valley of absolutely soul-drained, uninspired modern stoner/sludge bands, Horseskull shine like a corundum in a bowl of mud. There are three kinds of bands in my opinion. The first type, you hear them and at the time of the third second you know that the music is going to be complete piss. The second type - you listen to several songs and feel like they have something, maybe some potential to develop; and the third type of band just grabs you by the balls and you really don't need to hear much to know they will get you going. Horseskull were that king of band for me, from song number one I knew I was going to dig them, dig them hard.

Their style of metal can be described as greasy, low-tuned, angry badass solo-infused sludge, if you might like. The pace of the majority of the album is too fast to fit in your regular sludge metal description, but the vocal style and general delivery sound as pissed as the baby of Disrupt and Crowbar. The solo guitar won't get tired for a minute and you'd just be buried under a wave of awesomeness of soloing.  I am not kidding, the fuzz wizard is strong here. There are tiny acoustic bits here and there, but not too much and I'd say, exactly the appropriate amount to never make the record in general cheesy. I mean, cheese is as far from this band as your cat is from graduating from Harvard. The final punch is the last song that would delude you to be a desert trip and then bring you with a bang to reality. Class. The only problem with this album is that it is too short.

Alrightie, to sum this up, if you like your doom, sludge or whatever distorted heavy music low and cool and unstained from posers and retro dressed chicks and falcettos, here you go.

Autopsy - Macabre Eternal (2011)

I've been buried under the glistering summer heat, enjoying the calm spiritual death of my burning summer break of a chemistry student, being turned into a human craving for silence and sleep as a means of enjoying myself (that's also why university is not always the best idea). Then one day I woke up and passed around my Autopsy Severed Survival vinyl and thought 'maybe I should give it a spin'. Which proved a successful means of waking the beast from her eternal summer slumber. Then it lead to me listening to 'Macabre Eternal' as I remember how much I loved and praised it when it first came out. Oh, hooray, down-tuned guitars, ravaging soloing - a glimpse of clear air, finally!

What bums me most about death metal bands created in the new millennia is the way in which they decide to produce their records, absolutely minimalizing the human effort by using machines to do all their work. Don't get me wrong, I don't care whether you work more or less in the studio, I care about the final product, which is the music I am listening to and I definitely don't like my drumming crystal clear and my bass clean and shaved. Autopsy have definitely 'improved' a lot sound quality-wise from their early days. However, what is great sound and production in their case, does not ruin the spirit and smell of this package in the very least. You get straight, non cheesy and always as balled, down trodden death metal. Or maybe I should say 'doom death' if we're speaking about some of the songs. What's particularly enjoyable about this album is that is has everything your ears'd need - it has the fast, bludgeoning guitar solos, it has the doomier, slow-paced grim songs, it has everything and done in the finest way possible.

The songs themselves feel complete and actually contain some real meat - such diversity of riffs, astonishingly rude bass; when you have almost forgotten that bands used to record something in such a raw way - you get it - the bass is fucking there, it is audible! The most important ingredient in cooking your death metal. Then in the next song you get an acoustic guitar, a plethora of surprises and all of them are good. Just when you think you're hearing the beats of the dead in a slow and grim manner, the next songs throws you at a completely different situation - suddenly you'd be floating in the rives of the underworld hearing a serene chorus. God, I love this album, in its longest and shortest tracks, just the same.

When I am listening to this album I feel like I hold a diamond that I could put in a secret vault and get it out when I really need it. There are very few bands in the world that would produce something with such a high quality these days. It's as if I am listening to the Repulsion demos again but with a much more enjoyable sound and it's not a hundred years ago. There are some albums - whatever you say, you won't to them justice until you finally hear the material and this is one of them.

Serpent Warning - Serpent Warning (2014)

Maybe I need to send a bucket of flowers to the Finnish nation for being the ones that never disappoint and release the best traditional doom metal in the planet, no matter how sucky the situation throughout the world. Finland has saved my ears so many times when there's nothing good to put on, eh. There are probably several gay doom bands from Santa's homeland that I don't know of, but the overall quality far outreaches the trash, if any at all.  

I was going to say that Serpent Warning sound ultra mighty, totally like The Wandering Midget but hey, both bands share the same vocalist so now we know why. Typical majestic, finnish, traditional, clear singing with rare higher pitches. If you like this manner of singing ala Reverend Bizarre with a strong accent, you'd probably appreciate the vocal delivery.

Many people would tell you that traditional doom is a 'said and done' genre and there's not much going on to reinvent the wheel. If you're among these folks I doubt you'd dig Serpent Warning as you simply don't get to doom more traditionally than them. If I have to sum up for the whole album - yes, it isn't something very original or varied, but it's quality doom nonetheless. Not innovative, but good. 

One thing I've always appreciated is when the musicians manage to deliver the music in such a way that it all sounds like a one big whole, yet managing to give the instruments a voice so you hear each one of them individually. Not one big mish mash. The bass is there, the rhythm is felt strongly. I guess a lot of this could be contributed to the vocalist  as it seems he is conducting all the band and they all march in his steps. The result is very catchy, mid to slow paced doom.  

I love the picture on the album cover and if the band wanted to set your mood with it, their goal is complete.  

Go check them out at: http://ihate.bandcamp.com/album/serpent-warning 

Ocean Chief - Universums härd (2014)

Ocean Chief are among the strangest 'sludge' bands that my ears have encountered and I mean it all in a good way. When you hear the name you might as well delude yourself that they have something to do with the post rock/sludge style of metal that's been popular recently, something in the likes of later Tombs, but no. They hammer on in a more primal, refusing to be sophisticated kind of way and the raw energy that erupts from the record won't miss burying in its lava anyone listening to it. 

The first song powers off in a very Melvins kind of a way, contains a lot of vocals (unlike most other songs) and although the guitar hammers decently enough to call Ocean Chief above average, I think the instrumental songs that follow bear more pride and are definitely among the more interesting work of the band. It works for them to build on guitar solos and riffs without the music becoming too impersonal or boring. What I personally dig most is the way the band never fails to sound grim. It's the more nihilistic, doom kind of sludge rather than something hardcore.

If you love Melvins's Bullhead you would instantly hear the King Buzzo manner of raging and blurting. It can be felt in the first song more than anywhere else later on. The whole record sounds like a massive black whole that's going to suck you in its gravity in any moment. What's best, the solo guitar is present at so many times, you won't feel like listening to something deprived of character.

What could've been improved in my opinion, is the audibility of some of the instruments, the bass is barely there, the drumming could've been stronger. Singing in Swedish will probably leave you clueless like me about what's going on in the lyrics. The production is good as it preserves the raw energy of the band. May I be excused as I am not an expert in mixing but I think there's something missing there as at times I hear the instruments like a bowl of soup instead of pieces lined as to stand out. 

Generally I'd say Universums härd is a good record to relax to on a grim day. Intelligent without being pretentious post rock shite. 

You can give it an ear here: http://ihate.bandcamp.com/album/universums-h-rd

Naam - Naam (2009)

I’ve been trying to keep up to date and review mainly “the records of the day” but today I pitifully remembered that I’ve skipped Naam, something I think is a criminal offense towards my tastes in music, so take a good seat, we will have to go five years in time. 

If you’re into the arts of the holy stoner doom, Om-esque bands from around the globe, you’re surely familiar with Naam. Unless you’re not here’s a quick reviewing of their spiritual genius. For a moment there I thought the band was from Sweden, having in mind how many successful bands from their caliber hail from the northern land. My guess failed, these boys come from nowhere else but good old hectic New York. Their location, however, is the only thing that links them to the States. Musically this beautiful piece of stoner only speaks of high mountains in the Middle East, clear water valleys and misty mountain tops somewhere very, very far from the familiar sight.   

Naam’s debut is extremely spiritual, very uplifting and not depressive in any way that you’re used of associating doom with. The only reason the band is described as stoner doom is because of the heaviness of their records and that’s where the “doom” bit ends. The tribal motive is present in each songs, in some more than in the others. The opener track, a sixteen minute beauty is an example of a tribal journey that in no way feels like sixteen minutes. I really like these bands that can produce the longest of tracks but you never notice because they are so good. And to be fair, not only I needn’t skip any of this music but would often have to come back to it, listening many times to only one song. The debut album reminds me a lot of Om at particular places, partly because I am a big Om fan, partly because they are of the few heavier bands that encompass eastern melodies. A note here, Naam’s sound always feels much heavier than Om and of course, there isn’t such heavy bass presence. However, it’s in no way reminiscent.  The music flows freely and unrestrained, evicting pictures in the mind – crescent moon under a silent sky and a complete inner nirvana.  

One more point to make, the songs – even thought they flow so freely and feel like one big whole, are very different in pace and structure. There are the completely tribal, almost acapella songs and there are the faster stoner tracks. Astonishingly well balanced album that you’d come back to. 

I’d very rarely find something to listen to that’s so amazingly linked to nature and epic in sound. There’s nothing too trite here and frankly, nothing earthly. 

http://kingdomofnaam.bandcamp.com/

Salem's Pot - ...Lurar ut dig på prärien (2014)

 

I am so hyped and fried at the moment; it’s hard to start this review. Be aware that the amount of fan girling might exceed the Chandrasekhar limit. If you’re someone like me, chances are that Salem’s Pot can easily be among your favourite bands. Well, not really, as they have only released a few songs so far; but you would definitely dig them. Dig them hard.

For a starter, their three songs album sounds like Electric Wizard, only if they cared what was going on. So much slow sleaze, it feels like crawling through dirt in electric colours. The vocalist is buried under five tones of smoke and blurts out lyrics like Clayton from Satan’s Satyrs. If you have listened to both bands' latest records a lot, you'd probably find a lot of resemblance in the vocal "style". The production sounds super garage, may I say, basement; and altogether the feeling is one of being in an 80s giallo horror movie.

After having listened to this album for ten times, I find myself whining it’s not any longer - and the mere fact that I was in utter joy after finding they have two other demos, can only give a hint about them being something more than your average three man down-tuned shit ass doom fuck. As a whole, the music sounds driven by drugs and psychedelia, no idea how true that is, but what matters is that it sounds rightfully in its own space and dimension. There is no ray of positivism, no female infused vocals and no retro chicks, sorry. Actually I have no idea if there are any female members, but thankfully you can’t hear any tiny voices.

 

The pace of the whole thing is real slow (wah, surprise!) and feels more like you are being dragged rather than led to somewhere. The coolest down-tuned guitar solos enter here and there, always being distorted and sludgy.

Many bands in the stoner/doom genre use vertigo for their artistic presentation (booklets, albums covers, etc.) but I can only guess most of them do it because it's considered to be retro and probably because of Black Sabbath. However, these folks here do sound mind fucked to an incomprehensible level and I think they are finally someone whose music is cool enough to use it. The fact they've decided to use Soledad Miranda is another thing I like them. People with good taste should support people with good taste.

Now go listen to them, kids, load another one. Get hype.

http://salemspot.bandcamp.com/

Bölzer - Roman Acupuncture (2012)

Bölzer's first physical release is the most crushing, not giving any fucks black/death metal demo that I've listened to in the latest years. The Swiss band consists of two members only but they blast hatred for a hundred. The richness of the sound achieved is quite striking and in my own opinion, it shouldn't be perfected in any way as it is already as it should be.

I'm trying to think of any smart adjectives to describe this band, but If I have to go with a plainer approach they sound like fucking Bolt Thrower of black metal. The experience of the listener can be equalled to a thousand canons being fired at your ears. The blast beats sound kinda garage and the riffs go from slow to fast to highlight the tortured screams. Come on, you don't expect a song called "Roman Acupuncture" to contain chilled vocals, do you?

The riffs sound ominous and ancient, as if produced in some blackened cavern while a dancing tribe follows a ritual. On overall, the vocals are decently audible with a lot of "Ughs" and no unneeded black metal falsettos.

My favourite of the 3 tracks is the first one as it is a total beast with ass kicking riffs in a whirlwind of evil sound. The riffs power off just one after another, with some time for the drums to slow down and kick you below the belt.

Top class black metal, check it out.

Amulet - Cut the Crap (2011)

Amulet have cut all the crap. This is the best demo tape I've listened to in ages. Or aeons. I've listened to it so many times it's a miracle of technology how my player still spins it.

These guys don't sound like anything I've yet listened to or can think of and at the same time they sound like most bands I love. The metal in this tape sounds fucking old school and legit. I have no idea what kind of equipment it is recorded with, but it seems one doesn't need a lot of fancy stuff to record good old school sounding music. If I have to define it, I'd probably go with NWBHM, which by itself doesn't make it really clear, as there are so many different bands within the boundaries of the genre. What is best is that there's nothing cheesy in 'Cut the Crap'. All the possible gayness has fallen sloppy dead. It basically sounds like really badass necro speed.

I think everyone should hype around bands like this one, instead of the limitless amounts of crap that gets covered in popular metal magazines. The solos here are fast and loud, just like in the good old days and you'd probably find yourself air guitaring hopelessly. It's like fucking early Angel Steel emerged from the grave. The bass sound is also very raw and leaves a pinch of good old authentic sound.

 

So what are you waiting for, go check these guys and support them! https://amuletmetal.bandcamp.com/

Drencher - Demo (2014)

Aberdeen’s Drencher might have formed only recently, but they, without any doubt, know how to hit hard. The 4-track bulldozer of a demo presents a bit more than 20 minutes of uncompromising sludge and anguish.

I would allow myself to say that it’s quite an upbeat demo and actually even fast for what you’re used to hear under the sludge tag. I found the vocals quite awesome, as they don’t lean towards metalcore at all. From time to time it gets problematic for me to find decent vocals in sludge, as many bands (especially from the States) sound too metalcore/hardcorish. Ok, so this is not the case here.

The best track in my opinion is the opener, as the riff is just the best and it won’t leave you static, in any way. If it does, you probably don’t like this kind of music anyway. Sea slayer (the name, yass) also has a slower section which, if you like sludge, would know often turns out to be the heaviest part of the song. Plain and simple, this riff makes anything near it crumble. For any two guys, these boys produce a lot of noise. A small minus is the lack of any proper bass section. I am a keen bass guitar lover and think it's especially necessary for any band, not to mention sludge bands, it adds additional wretchedness to the music and always makes the songs appear more varied. 

For the weak hearted of you, or maybe I should say, the weak-eared, I can freely say that the production is good enough and you won't be put through any garage sounding recordings. Go hear Drencher, they are full of anger and dynamics and would hopefully hit hard some underground Scottish club (and beyond) soon.

https://drencher.bandcamp.com/track/sea-slayer