stoner rock / sludge
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Since their appearance at last year's Desertfest, Sardonis is one of my favorite live acts. With great ease, this duo overclassed several established acts on the bill while they rolled their instrumental stoner doom over an outrageous audience. Shortly after their crushing gig I had the chance to have a little chat with these guys. As powerful and brutal as they are on stage, in real life these are two kind, modest guys who still don't seem to grasp what kind of groove-geniuses they are. Luckily for us, Consouling Sounds knows a little something about musical abilities so they signed them up for their third full-length.
Now, the release date for this album is 11 September, which opens a lot of possible references to another brutal assault that happened on that day, several years ago. I could write about a similar powerful blast and about leaving nothing but destruction and confusion behind when the clouds finally clear up. It is a fact that this album is one hell of a rollercoaster, filled with fuzzy riffs and intense drums. However, when the smoke clears up after this attack is over, all that will be left behind is a growing number of fans with a big smile on their faces and their horned fists still raised in the air.
What Sardonis lacks in vocal resources, they clearly make up in variation and in power. Within five tracks, they pay homage to the power of the riff, ranging from psychedelic rock, over sludge and doom metal toward even black metal. Opener 'The Coming Of Khan' starts with some calm guitars, a bit hesitant maybe but slowly evolving into the first of a whole bunch of groovy riffs and astounding drums. From there the tone is set and we soon realize we have embarked on a wicked ride, a seering hot cruise through the vast desert of stoner rock.
When the word 'riff' appears, many people will automatically think of Black Sabbath. In a way the work of Tommi Iommi has obviously been a huge influence on Sardonis' music but there's much more that just Sabbath-cloning elements here. Other influences seem to come from bands like Monster Magnet, Sleep, Fu Manchu and Colour Haze. On 'Battering Ram', a song with a perfectly suited title, there are also some elements from extreme doom bands like Yob and Conan present. These already return in the first minutes of the brilliant 'Roaming The Valley', a stoner rock song even funeral doom fans can appreciate.
All these references should perfectly illustrate the highly versatile sound of Sardonis. This is not just another instrumental stoner rock band. This is a massive steamroller, combining elements from stoner rock, doom, sludge, punk, metal and noise rock. 'Ruined Decay' for example shows a bit more of the groove-aspect in Sardonis. Again this song drives on immersive and forceful riffs that any Roadburn, Freak Valley or DesertFest visitor will embrace.
This record shows how Sardonis evolved from a bit of a hesitant but fuzz loaden two-piece into an extremely confident band while still having a lot of fun rocking everyone's socks off, everywhere they go. A perfect example of this mature sound is the twisted closer 'Forward To The Abyss', a huge, monolithic piece of instrumental sludge, combining quiet passages with fierce riffs and often blackened drums. This is the stuff that will tear a venue down, demolish speakers and crush audience members everywhere, but it's damn well worth it...
Serge
Now, the release date for this album is 11 September, which opens a lot of possible references to another brutal assault that happened on that day, several years ago. I could write about a similar powerful blast and about leaving nothing but destruction and confusion behind when the clouds finally clear up. It is a fact that this album is one hell of a rollercoaster, filled with fuzzy riffs and intense drums. However, when the smoke clears up after this attack is over, all that will be left behind is a growing number of fans with a big smile on their faces and their horned fists still raised in the air.
What Sardonis lacks in vocal resources, they clearly make up in variation and in power. Within five tracks, they pay homage to the power of the riff, ranging from psychedelic rock, over sludge and doom metal toward even black metal. Opener 'The Coming Of Khan' starts with some calm guitars, a bit hesitant maybe but slowly evolving into the first of a whole bunch of groovy riffs and astounding drums. From there the tone is set and we soon realize we have embarked on a wicked ride, a seering hot cruise through the vast desert of stoner rock.
When the word 'riff' appears, many people will automatically think of Black Sabbath. In a way the work of Tommi Iommi has obviously been a huge influence on Sardonis' music but there's much more that just Sabbath-cloning elements here. Other influences seem to come from bands like Monster Magnet, Sleep, Fu Manchu and Colour Haze. On 'Battering Ram', a song with a perfectly suited title, there are also some elements from extreme doom bands like Yob and Conan present. These already return in the first minutes of the brilliant 'Roaming The Valley', a stoner rock song even funeral doom fans can appreciate.
All these references should perfectly illustrate the highly versatile sound of Sardonis. This is not just another instrumental stoner rock band. This is a massive steamroller, combining elements from stoner rock, doom, sludge, punk, metal and noise rock. 'Ruined Decay' for example shows a bit more of the groove-aspect in Sardonis. Again this song drives on immersive and forceful riffs that any Roadburn, Freak Valley or DesertFest visitor will embrace.
This record shows how Sardonis evolved from a bit of a hesitant but fuzz loaden two-piece into an extremely confident band while still having a lot of fun rocking everyone's socks off, everywhere they go. A perfect example of this mature sound is the twisted closer 'Forward To The Abyss', a huge, monolithic piece of instrumental sludge, combining quiet passages with fierce riffs and often blackened drums. This is the stuff that will tear a venue down, demolish speakers and crush audience members everywhere, but it's damn well worth it...
Serge