Bongzilla : "Dab City"

Carrying on the long running tradition of delivering some of the best sonic baked goods, this stoner metal band rumbles on with no less enthusiasm as they had in the 90s when they started this. The first song finds the snarled vocals keeping things more stoner metal than stoner rock. It is not until the second song that their Sabbath influence begins to shine through the fuzz. There is a lethargic shuffle that moves these guys in a doom direction, but the big difference being they are too high to be depressed thus never allowing things to sink into the shadowy morass that is doom. This song feels more jammed out. I mean if these guys worship as heavilly at the alter of the bong as their brand would have you believe I am sure remember complex song arrangements would not be their strength. 

Things get marginally darker with "Cannonboings" which is more narrated than sung. However this does answer what a cannonbong is which is a ritual of taking a shot of whiskey along with taking a bong rip. The tale told here reflects upon dropping bongs and other mishaps and discoveries involving the art of getting stoned. This song like the previous one wanders off into a jam session. The blunted boogie of "CARTS" finds the mammoth shuffle churning with no less weight than they have been attacking ear drums with for the bulk of their career. "Hippie Stick" finds the guitars chugging with similar enthusiasm. The pace picks up a little, but I think they do what is most comfortable for who they are. The vocals sound more like an angry cat on this one. 

I appreciate what these guys do and on this album it is clear what they do is a singular personification of sound. I would not say they value a sound more than songs, despite the penchant for jamming. Things circular a similar trajectory. One cool thing about these guys is while they are influenced by Black Sabbath, you never really hear, at least on this album, them directly mimicking Sabbath riffs, but rather coming up with their own stuff in the vein of. Granted the vocals take things side ways in a heavier direction as the anguished screams take the place of vocal melodies. The album slowly gains momentum going into the last song. I will give this album a 9, as it shows a band still doing what they do best, it has enough ebb and flow for me to keep my interest when something that normally drones on the kinds of jams they do might lose me. If you are a fan, then they surely will deliver what you love about them.