Sea is a band from Boston, USA. In fact, that's all I know about this band. Yet, that makes it easier to focus on the music. The debut ep contains three songs, basically stoner doom metal tracks but seemingly influenced by a lot more than that. Post-metal, sludge and, most surprising, grunge are present throughout the entire ep, which gives the whole a great nostalgic atmosphere, almost making me wish I was back in the nineties.
But let's stay in this era, and make it a whole lot better. Opener 'Seer' seems to combine the crushing sound of bands like Yob or Pallbearer with the grittiness of Alice In Chains or Stone Temple Pilots. In that aspect, The Melvins are never far away as an influence. However, Sea prefers to remain on their own domain, perhaps even coming up with a whole new sound in the doom metal scene.
There is plenty of room for melody and you can find a decent number of psychedelic solos. 'Moros' begins like an ancient Metallica ballad and turns into an hypnotic sludge metal track, thriving on fuzz and a headbanging-worthy tempo. Hell, there are even some death growls to be found. Closer 'Chronos' follows that path and is possibly the heaviest track on this album. This might be what Mudhoney would have sounded like if they decided to become a sludge doom band.
Most of all, this ep makes me want to see these guys live. I'm sure they will be immensely successful at Desertfest (hint) What they have come up with is one of the most surprising albums of the year so far. I never expected all these genres to fit together this well, and then there's even a perfectly fitting black metal passage too, because, why the hell not? If you were a grunge fan in the nineties and a doomer now, this ep will certainly please you.
​Serge