doom / sludge / and more - read the review to know
|
|
Well, here's a pretty nifty business decision for a young band. Imagine a CD-store owner receiving an ordering form for a new album. The biography mentions 'blackened (1), stoner (2), doom (3) with hardcore (4) and death metal (5) influences'. Now the shop owner has no choice than to order at least five copies, if he wants decent genre classifications in his shop. Now think about how many CD-stores there are in the world. Ca-ching motherf**ers.
I admit, I exaggerated a little bit. 'Death metal' was not included in the biography that came with this release, but the other four were. Besides, if I were a shopkeeper, I'd just place this under 'heavy'. I might order about five copies though because I think this stuff would sell.
We're dealing with a quartet from Vermont (USA) that has a widespread and modern approach to metal. They don't just stick to one subgenre but bring in an array of different ones as well. Besides the ones I mentioned earlier, you can add sludge and even a bit of shoegaze to the whole. But don't worry, I'll try to guide you through the chaos.
The album opens with 'Three Sisters', which starts off with great monolithic doom riffs and dito drums. Then it turns into a chaotic blackened death metal thing before blasting through my speakers as a stoner doom, or sludge, anthem. And why not add a little industrial metal as well while we're at it. As far as vocals are concerned, you get blackened shrieks and morbid growls, perfectly illustrating the chaos.
As strange and unappealing as this might sound, this is exactly what I meant with 'modern approach'. I know for a fact that this will be a blast on stage. It's a bit like going back through my old days at some metal festivals, summarized in five songs. 'Silt' for example brings back some memories of old doom metal, mainly in the vocals, which come scarily close to My Dying Bride. 'The Unturned Snare' takes on a more sludge approach, making it perfect for any stoner rock festival.
Maybe you're now thinking 'but you also mentioned shoegaze'. Well, 'Morning Hid the Hills' somehow reminds me of shoegaze and noise rock bands for a while, until the vocals come in of course. And certainly until the song suddenly turns into an old school black metal track. Since we're piling up the subgenres, let's add old school death metal as well in 'Celestial Rift'. Damn, that shopkeeper will have to buy a whole box of these things by now.
Needless to say that 'Murmurs From The Well Nothing More' is a highly varied e.p., almost continuously driving on intensity, crushing guitars and hammering drums. Do I recommend it? Well, I do to people who reside in that grey area where genre limitations are slowly fading away and blatant crossovers are no longer frowned upon. That area where the question 'what music do you listen to' is usually answered with 'heavy music' or in some cases 'you wouldn't understand'...
Serge
I admit, I exaggerated a little bit. 'Death metal' was not included in the biography that came with this release, but the other four were. Besides, if I were a shopkeeper, I'd just place this under 'heavy'. I might order about five copies though because I think this stuff would sell.
We're dealing with a quartet from Vermont (USA) that has a widespread and modern approach to metal. They don't just stick to one subgenre but bring in an array of different ones as well. Besides the ones I mentioned earlier, you can add sludge and even a bit of shoegaze to the whole. But don't worry, I'll try to guide you through the chaos.
The album opens with 'Three Sisters', which starts off with great monolithic doom riffs and dito drums. Then it turns into a chaotic blackened death metal thing before blasting through my speakers as a stoner doom, or sludge, anthem. And why not add a little industrial metal as well while we're at it. As far as vocals are concerned, you get blackened shrieks and morbid growls, perfectly illustrating the chaos.
As strange and unappealing as this might sound, this is exactly what I meant with 'modern approach'. I know for a fact that this will be a blast on stage. It's a bit like going back through my old days at some metal festivals, summarized in five songs. 'Silt' for example brings back some memories of old doom metal, mainly in the vocals, which come scarily close to My Dying Bride. 'The Unturned Snare' takes on a more sludge approach, making it perfect for any stoner rock festival.
Maybe you're now thinking 'but you also mentioned shoegaze'. Well, 'Morning Hid the Hills' somehow reminds me of shoegaze and noise rock bands for a while, until the vocals come in of course. And certainly until the song suddenly turns into an old school black metal track. Since we're piling up the subgenres, let's add old school death metal as well in 'Celestial Rift'. Damn, that shopkeeper will have to buy a whole box of these things by now.
Needless to say that 'Murmurs From The Well Nothing More' is a highly varied e.p., almost continuously driving on intensity, crushing guitars and hammering drums. Do I recommend it? Well, I do to people who reside in that grey area where genre limitations are slowly fading away and blatant crossovers are no longer frowned upon. That area where the question 'what music do you listen to' is usually answered with 'heavy music' or in some cases 'you wouldn't understand'...
Serge