Dozer - Drifting In The Endless Void (Blues Funeral Records) [Rich Piva]
A new Dozer record is going to produce both excitement and lots of opinions about one of the seminal stoner rock bands of our time. These have been producing killer rock across four decades now, but not everyone loves all their output. I have seen a lot of comments hoping this one is better than x more than pretty much any other band in the genre. Well fear not because the new Dozer record is amazing, making album number six, Drifting In The Endless Void, right up there with their best work which is quite a feat for a band who has been around this long.
Right off the bat you can tell this is going to kick ass with the opening track, Mutation/Transformation, which may be the album opener of the year so far. Let me just say it now; the drumming on this record is off the charts. I can’t help but to isolate in my head drummer Olle Marthans efforts on this record. The track itself has a great riff, a heavy/spacey feel to it, and just rocks.
Right off the bat you can tell this is going to kick ass with the opening track, Mutation/Transformation, which may be the album opener of the year so far. Let me just say it now; the drumming on this record is off the charts. I can’t help but to isolate in my head drummer Olle Marthans efforts on this record. The track itself has a great riff, a heavy/spacey feel to it, and just rocks.
I love the vocals on this and all the tracks on the record, as you can feel the guys are really feeling what they have created with this album. Another cool riff opens the absolute ripper of a track, Ex-Human, Now Beast. That drumming (I am tired just listening to his efforts here) once again leads the way but the vocal performance is next level as well. The unique guitar sound that the band has generated on Drifting In The Endless Void just expands the uniqueness of this record and is in full effect on this song.
Dust For Blood is more of a straight-ahead rocker and may be their catchiest track on the album. Andromeda is Dozer’s space rock anthem, reminding me a bit musically of Kal-El but with those unique vocal stylings of Fredrik Nordin, and did I mention the drums? I love the song titles on this record, including the killer tracks No Quarter Expected, No Quarter Given and Run, Mortals Run, which are both more of the same excellence from the band on Drifting In The Endless Void. We close it out with the eight-minute stoner space epic Missing 13 which may be my favorite track on an album filled with killer tracks. Kind of reminds me of Jupiter era Cave In which is pretty much perfect.
There is no doubt that there will be a lot of opinions on Drifting In The Endless Void, but I can’t imagine anything being negative. This album kicks ass and can be put side by side with almost any release that we have heard this year. Dozer will be appearing on many end of year lists at or near the top and it will be well deserved for a band who has been around for so long and has cemented their legacy as one of the legends of stoner rock even more now with Drifting In The Endless Void. 9/10
Iron Jinn - Iron Jinn (Stickman Records) [Mark Young]
This is the self-titled debut album from Iron Jinn, hailing from Amsterdam and bearing component parts of notable rock outfits who came together due to their love of the heavy riff and their fundamental need to challenge through their music.
And what music it is. It is just a mesmeric piece, from start to finish. There is no set pattern to the songs or theme, some at pace others slow and measured. This is not heavy in a traditional sense with overdriven guitars but the way the vocals and backing synchronises is brilliant. The vocals tear through different styles – normal clean, falsetto but always sang rather than shrieked.
Winding World starts us off on this trip, giving a quick start which then takes in numerous musical motifs as it makes its way through 7 minutes of run time that doesn’t seem like that length at all. Soft Healers is another such track as it weaves its way from a tempered start before bringing in background keys and synths all with an ever-present bass line that is prominent. As a one-two start this is as good as it gets.
Throughout the rest of the songs there is this sense of confidence, that the songs they are writing are as good as anything else and that they are trusting their instincts on what good sounds like. Ego Loka has a soft and simple arrangement with vocals taking centre stage sounding almost like Michael Hutchence which gave me the chills.
When they do rock out, it is controlled and set to suit the song, nothing is out of place, and everything works. Truth Is Your Dagger is an example of this where we have the solo break that allows them to riff out, but it completely fits and sounds so organic. Just great stuff.
It’s a weird one, because some of it sounds like it has come from the early 80’s new wave onto early 90’s ‘guitar bands’ but sounding new. It does remind me of QOTSA but not the excess. There is no excess here at all. I know I’ve just said it reminds me of others, but this might be unfair. Sometimes you can’t classify or tag a band as a particular type although I’m sure someone will. I compared them to Qotsa just because there is a freedom running through each song based on each individual within the band. They don’t need to have a guitar or drums or bass ripping through, they do what they think is right.
For me it boils down to: Did I like it? The answer is yes, I did and think it is one of the releases of the year. 9/10
Witch Piss - Witch Piss (Saturni Records) [Rich Piva]
Witch Piss is the unfortunate and terrible name for a good new stoner/doom/sludge band out of Mechelen, Belgium. Some of us seeing that name may think you know what the band’s debut album may sound like and you would be right; heavy guitars and bass, vocalist with a low bordering on growling voice (clean vocals, but gruff…), riffs, doomy lyrics, and an overall heavy approach to six killer tracks that make up their self-titled record. I say it is a terrible name because it would be a shame for people to see it and think these guys are a joke, because they are not. They are dead serious about their doomy sludge and deliver it like they don’t give a shit, which I guess is why they went with that moniker. They don’t care what you think.
The album opens with a very depressing spoken word monologue on mortality, but once the first track Old Hound Religion kicks in you know you are in for a heavy ass ride. The double bass drum is evident along with the almost psych swirling guitars that sets us up for that growl introducing this ripper of a track that really picks up the pace once it gets going. The rhythm section leads the way here with a heavy gallop, clearing the path for Peter Egberghs’s gruff vocals and message. If I didn’t know any better, I would have guessed these guys were from Texas and when you listen you will know what I mean.
There is no doubt that there will be a lot of opinions on Drifting In The Endless Void, but I can’t imagine anything being negative. This album kicks ass and can be put side by side with almost any release that we have heard this year. Dozer will be appearing on many end of year lists at or near the top and it will be well deserved for a band who has been around for so long and has cemented their legacy as one of the legends of stoner rock even more now with Drifting In The Endless Void. 9/10
Iron Jinn - Iron Jinn (Stickman Records) [Mark Young]
This is the self-titled debut album from Iron Jinn, hailing from Amsterdam and bearing component parts of notable rock outfits who came together due to their love of the heavy riff and their fundamental need to challenge through their music.
And what music it is. It is just a mesmeric piece, from start to finish. There is no set pattern to the songs or theme, some at pace others slow and measured. This is not heavy in a traditional sense with overdriven guitars but the way the vocals and backing synchronises is brilliant. The vocals tear through different styles – normal clean, falsetto but always sang rather than shrieked.
Winding World starts us off on this trip, giving a quick start which then takes in numerous musical motifs as it makes its way through 7 minutes of run time that doesn’t seem like that length at all. Soft Healers is another such track as it weaves its way from a tempered start before bringing in background keys and synths all with an ever-present bass line that is prominent. As a one-two start this is as good as it gets.
Throughout the rest of the songs there is this sense of confidence, that the songs they are writing are as good as anything else and that they are trusting their instincts on what good sounds like. Ego Loka has a soft and simple arrangement with vocals taking centre stage sounding almost like Michael Hutchence which gave me the chills.
When they do rock out, it is controlled and set to suit the song, nothing is out of place, and everything works. Truth Is Your Dagger is an example of this where we have the solo break that allows them to riff out, but it completely fits and sounds so organic. Just great stuff.
It’s a weird one, because some of it sounds like it has come from the early 80’s new wave onto early 90’s ‘guitar bands’ but sounding new. It does remind me of QOTSA but not the excess. There is no excess here at all. I know I’ve just said it reminds me of others, but this might be unfair. Sometimes you can’t classify or tag a band as a particular type although I’m sure someone will. I compared them to Qotsa just because there is a freedom running through each song based on each individual within the band. They don’t need to have a guitar or drums or bass ripping through, they do what they think is right.
For me it boils down to: Did I like it? The answer is yes, I did and think it is one of the releases of the year. 9/10
Witch Piss - Witch Piss (Saturni Records) [Rich Piva]
Witch Piss is the unfortunate and terrible name for a good new stoner/doom/sludge band out of Mechelen, Belgium. Some of us seeing that name may think you know what the band’s debut album may sound like and you would be right; heavy guitars and bass, vocalist with a low bordering on growling voice (clean vocals, but gruff…), riffs, doomy lyrics, and an overall heavy approach to six killer tracks that make up their self-titled record. I say it is a terrible name because it would be a shame for people to see it and think these guys are a joke, because they are not. They are dead serious about their doomy sludge and deliver it like they don’t give a shit, which I guess is why they went with that moniker. They don’t care what you think.
The album opens with a very depressing spoken word monologue on mortality, but once the first track Old Hound Religion kicks in you know you are in for a heavy ass ride. The double bass drum is evident along with the almost psych swirling guitars that sets us up for that growl introducing this ripper of a track that really picks up the pace once it gets going. The rhythm section leads the way here with a heavy gallop, clearing the path for Peter Egberghs’s gruff vocals and message. If I didn’t know any better, I would have guessed these guys were from Texas and when you listen you will know what I mean.
How To Travel Lighter has a nice opening riff and slows down the pace a bit but not the heavy. I love the chant like vocals that is like a call and response. Sludgy doom at its finest. The guitars on this album are understated but not overtaken in the mix which gives this album a unique sound. Me And My Camero (of course this would be their car of choice) is a nice groovy stoner jam with those heavy psych guitars and will be on many 4/20 playlists for April. Hoofprints is more stoner/sludge goodness and weed worship, with a whole bunch of that double bass work and riffs aplenty, and dare I say a catchy chorus?
The Hunter And The Game doesn’t stray too far from where we have been over the first four tracks, and that is a very good thing. I just continue to go back to the mix, which some may be put off by but I am enjoying the upfront low end and understated guitars. There is also something spacey about this whole album. It’s heavy but there is this undercurrent of floating in space that I cannot shake as I listen. The closer, Children Of The Fire is straight up heavy doom with some serious Candlemass worship to start, which is pretty killer.
Please take this band seriously and don’t judge by a name, because Witch Piss is not screwing around with their debut album. This is seriously heavy sludgy, doomy stoner rock that needs to be considered alongside the bands playing this style today. This is a very exciting debut album and I see a ton of potential in what these guys bring and will do next. 8/10
Lurk - Aegis (Transcending Obscurity Records) [Mark Young]
This is a slow, methodical album, where the order of the day is to extract as much tension as is possible from the listener. There seems to have been a glut recently of doom and sludge coming through, and it can be tiresome in all honesty as they meander without purpose.
Lurk are different in that they keep the repetition at bay by sheer force as they hammer home their take on this genre. It's uncompromising in its approach, unhurried in its delivery that for those who lean towards the speedier end of metal may find it dull and one note. Fans of nasty, grindy doom will find lots to love.
The vocals are seemingly spewed forth in a style that's uncomfortable as it sounds like he is in physical pain. There are moments of beauty within each song as softer parts are played off against the heavier ones, and the best is that they recognise when to do this.
It's a well written album and is for me one of the better doom albums I've reviewed so far this year. It won't be for everyone but as I've said will tick all the boxes for those are into it. I always go back to imagining how this would be live, and this would be a painful one. It might be slow but Blood Surge for example is one where it just grinds along, before it starts to groove.
Please take this band seriously and don’t judge by a name, because Witch Piss is not screwing around with their debut album. This is seriously heavy sludgy, doomy stoner rock that needs to be considered alongside the bands playing this style today. This is a very exciting debut album and I see a ton of potential in what these guys bring and will do next. 8/10
Lurk - Aegis (Transcending Obscurity Records) [Mark Young]
This is a slow, methodical album, where the order of the day is to extract as much tension as is possible from the listener. There seems to have been a glut recently of doom and sludge coming through, and it can be tiresome in all honesty as they meander without purpose.
Lurk are different in that they keep the repetition at bay by sheer force as they hammer home their take on this genre. It's uncompromising in its approach, unhurried in its delivery that for those who lean towards the speedier end of metal may find it dull and one note. Fans of nasty, grindy doom will find lots to love.
The vocals are seemingly spewed forth in a style that's uncomfortable as it sounds like he is in physical pain. There are moments of beauty within each song as softer parts are played off against the heavier ones, and the best is that they recognise when to do this.
It's a well written album and is for me one of the better doom albums I've reviewed so far this year. It won't be for everyone but as I've said will tick all the boxes for those are into it. I always go back to imagining how this would be live, and this would be a painful one. It might be slow but Blood Surge for example is one where it just grinds along, before it starts to groove.
There are no weak or by the numbers tracks on here, and I would recommend it to anyone to at least sample it. Kehto is another where it could be used in a David Lynch film just to emphasize the pain a character is feeling. They bring it to a close with The Blooming and then we are done with a feeling that you have been punched about the body for the last 40 or so minutes.
One of the best things about reviewing music is that you get exposed to bands you would never hear, and ultimately miss out on. This is one of them and it's a welcome break from faster than the speed of sound guitar and drums. Its not restful or peaceful. It is bleak in its attack, and you know they wouldn’t have it any other way. 7/10
One of the best things about reviewing music is that you get exposed to bands you would never hear, and ultimately miss out on. This is one of them and it's a welcome break from faster than the speed of sound guitar and drums. Its not restful or peaceful. It is bleak in its attack, and you know they wouldn’t have it any other way. 7/10