doom / sludge
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This album arrived in my mailbox somewhere in November of last year. Yet, since the release date is 22 January I tried to wait awhile to finally review it. I've been listening to 'Vol. 1 & 2' quite a few times now and eventually I couldn't wait to tell you about it. This is the first true sludge smasher of the year, guaranteed to melt your brain and get that doomed party started. Prepare to bang thy head, my fellow doomsters.
For a band that was founded in 2014, these Canadians certainly know a thing or two about monolithic riffs. Inspired by the vast landscape surrounding them (living in Vancouver), the songs on this album are equally massive. 'Vol. 1', containing the songs 'Glimmervoid' and 'Hivemind', opens this album with a surprising blend of old school doom metal riffs and modern day brutal sludge vocals (plus clean ones).
What I like most about these two songs, is the grunge-feel which often appears. In a way, you could see this as the doom metal version of Alice In Chains but then again, there's so much more to it. Other bands that come to mind are Conan, Pallbearer and, of course, Black Sabbath, just to name a few. There's also a hint of death metal, mainly in the growling vocals on the second song.
'Vol 2' seems to take on a more psychedelic approach, starting with the acoustic 'Cosmic Ghost'. Even though it's subdued and unplugged character, this still is a massive piece of work with plenty of power. 'Haunter' brings back the distortion and the fuzz in perfect sludge doom tradition. 'Antibody' immediately brings Black Sabbath to mind, check it out, you'll hear it from the very first riff. Don't worry though, this still is a crushing song.
The album closes with my favorite track, 'Aeons', not so much a doom track but more of a fuzzed-out drone piece, an outro if you will. It surely completes this vast journey through barren landscapes, huge mountains and expanding rivers. It certainly is an awesome album to start this doomed year with. Seer has set the standard for the 2016 sludge scene, and it will be tough to match this stuff, that's for damn sure.
Serge
For a band that was founded in 2014, these Canadians certainly know a thing or two about monolithic riffs. Inspired by the vast landscape surrounding them (living in Vancouver), the songs on this album are equally massive. 'Vol. 1', containing the songs 'Glimmervoid' and 'Hivemind', opens this album with a surprising blend of old school doom metal riffs and modern day brutal sludge vocals (plus clean ones).
What I like most about these two songs, is the grunge-feel which often appears. In a way, you could see this as the doom metal version of Alice In Chains but then again, there's so much more to it. Other bands that come to mind are Conan, Pallbearer and, of course, Black Sabbath, just to name a few. There's also a hint of death metal, mainly in the growling vocals on the second song.
'Vol 2' seems to take on a more psychedelic approach, starting with the acoustic 'Cosmic Ghost'. Even though it's subdued and unplugged character, this still is a massive piece of work with plenty of power. 'Haunter' brings back the distortion and the fuzz in perfect sludge doom tradition. 'Antibody' immediately brings Black Sabbath to mind, check it out, you'll hear it from the very first riff. Don't worry though, this still is a crushing song.
The album closes with my favorite track, 'Aeons', not so much a doom track but more of a fuzzed-out drone piece, an outro if you will. It surely completes this vast journey through barren landscapes, huge mountains and expanding rivers. It certainly is an awesome album to start this doomed year with. Seer has set the standard for the 2016 sludge scene, and it will be tough to match this stuff, that's for damn sure.
Serge