November is Doom - Iota : "Pentasomnia"

 

This band features the drummer from the Otolith and Subrosa. They play a moody version of a blues-tinged stoner rock, that sets itself in a dusky liminal sonic space. The vocals are soulful and the music is dynamic with great guitar playing. The groove picks up for the second song that moves with a more grunge feel it is not unlike the mid-90s in this regard as metal bands began to feel the changing tides in the industry and sounds shifted. This was a unique period in time as things got more brooding. 

"The Returner" has a loose, jammy feel that wanders off. It feels more like stoner rock to me, that 70s wannabe riffing compressed into radio rock formulas, as it sounds like something you would play if you get high. Extended solos and hypnotic vocal melodies might not be the hookiest songwriting, but it captures a cool mood. This is the album's longest song at almost nine and a half minutes. 'The Time Keeper" is another wandering jam. This song also highlights the fact, that headphones work better for this album than computer speakers, as the guitar got lost.

They close the album with a darker tone that works well. The stormy tension of "the Great Disolver' how never reaches a resolution they just establish the pulse, but since this is a three-minute song it feels like rather than being given the time to jam on it, they just bring it to a premature end. I'll give this album a 9, it is fun, paints the picture your THC addled mind wants from this sort of thing, and even though many of these ideas just serve as a thesis for their jam it works when given the room to grow. 

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REZN : "Burden"

The new album from Chicago's Sonic Sorcerors finds them expanding their minds and sound though buckling in giving the opening track a dark grooving drive that might not be metal, but it is aggressive enough to get the point across. They continue exploring new ambiance realms as the bass line guides you into "Instinct". The plea of the vocals echoes out into the expansive place they have created here. It feels darker than the previous album, but darker in a more hazy moonlit manner. The tenor vocals cry out with more support from the diaphragm this time around, though not quite belted. The mood is more eerie than ghostly or spooky. I would not be surprised if the band was major heshers either. 

The guitar melody of "Bleak Patterns" is catchy and different for the band, but the song feels like it washed up in the wake of "Instinct". The bass line is not as meaty until a minute and a half into the song. The songs soar in from a cloud front that has a high-pressure front behind it, though never condenses into a storm. In some ways, this album is not unlike the new Pallbearer. The two bands hold much more common ground now. This song gets heavier as it drifts upshore. It might even be more sonically dense than the new Pallbearer. "Collapse" might be the album's best song, as it has an exotic guitar melody that floats through the song as a counterpoint to the vocals. 

The album begins to darken as it progresses like the dusk falls over it going into "Collapse" and the sun finally sets upon "Soft Prey". The vocals float around the songs with more assurance this time around. This first sounds to make me think of psychedelics creeping in two minutes into this song. The saxophone lends further merit to this as it creates an almost Pink Floyd-like dynamic. "Chasm" closes the album with the first metallic chugs that remind you these guys used to be a doom band. It is what the kids today call a banger for sure. I will give this album a 10, these guys will be hard to beat when it comes to making melancholy stoner rock that is heavy on the atmosphere. It drops June 14th on Sargent House. 

 

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Hot Garbage : "Precious Dream"

 When the first song hit, I was not sure what I was being hit with. There is a sonic heaviness to it, but it's not metal. I had to get into the first song before I could discern it's some sort of oddly mutated garage rock that is being attacked by the effects pedals of a shoegaze band. The more surf rock influences do not emerge until the second song. Female vocals that are not unlike the self-deprecating moan of Kim Gordan, are on this mic this time around. Once they begin to drive down the dark road that is "Lowering" the album takes a turn in a tense more post-punk direction, that has a more jammy feel. While this is cool and sounds great live I am sure, that when it diverts several songs in a manner that feels like it's turning the album into one long jam, I begin to question things like songwriting. 

It took a few listens to really dissect what was going on here and separate the songs from the sound. The riff shifts into more of a surf punk thing that sounds like Link Wray jamming with the Stooges. The nature of what they do here is more simplistic, but to their credit it works for me here more than when I have heard other bands do something similar. There is more going on with "Tunnel Traps" sonically but the riff is similar though the vocals dripping with effects and being drugged out. This is not the album's first psychedelic moment, but the drugs are kicking in harder here for sure. "Sarabandit" is more of a 60s-like take on garage psych. 

There is a trance-like element to the more woozy sounds swirling in "Blue Cat". In some ways it drones in others it reminds me of Stone Roses. 'Traveller/ Caravan' finds the trippiness going in the more predictable manner that is more commonplace with this sort of thing. "Erase My Mind" does this with a smooth-sailing motion as the song drifts into the night. It is darker which works better for my ears. I will give this wild wonderland a 9, it took turns I did not expect. 

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Haurun : "Wilting Within"

 

The shadows sway with the bong-laden haze of this band's gloomy dirges. There is a great deal of maturity possessing the debut from this Oakland based band. One of their most apparent strengths lies in the voice of  Lyra Cruz . Eliot Rennie's drumming certainly helps to keep things moving in a fluid manner. Things continue down the autumnal sonic path with "Lost & Found". The vocals sit at the forefront of the mix, so when the distorted chord crashes in they are relegated to a reverbed backdrop. This leads me to believe that heavy is not the primary mood they are seeking to invoke here. The guitar solo has more gain and cuts through into the spotlight of the mix, so they are fully aware guitars can be front and center. 

Things take on a more slithering melancholy for "Tension" which makes it more aptly named. Cruz's vocals haunt the song from the more alto side of her range. The bass playing of Joel Lacey holds the song together as the guitarist creates a web of atmosphere. I can hear this sitting on the more progressive outskirts of the doom genre. "Flying Low" moves towards a more metallic throb. The vocal melody is catchier, though she excels at putting her voice in all the right places. This might be the album's heaviest song thus far. Shoe-gaze also seems to be another influence on the way a song like "Lunar" coasts along through the bong-filled deserts conjured in the space the riffs leave behind.  Another moment might recall 90s grunge, but those are less frequent and would be the more ethereal moments from bands like Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains. Though "Lunar" is the closest these kids come to mainstream rock. 

The close the album with the 11-minute "Soil". It starts like it's floating down a lazy river or speculation and begins to shift five and a half minutes in. It splits the difference between jamming and droning. Crossing over more toward the jam side when the guitar solo is allowed to take things off course. Their drummer keeps this interesting. Even though the vocals have been a texture, they have been a dominant force of their sound, so going off into an extended instrumental passage makes sense. It unfolds into a more depressive introspective. Overall I really love what is going on here, aside from the deliberate choice to sacrifice the metallic heft of guitars, I think they make perfect choices in a flowing organic fashion and I will give this album a 9.5, so it almost classic perfect, but certainly one of the strongest forays into this sort of thing.  

Erection House : "Feels of Correction"

This Dannish band kicks up a wild ride of droning sonic rock. The fuzzed out wall of guitars is hypnotizing in a manner not unlike Swans, Hawkwind or Sonic Youth. The band cites MC5 and Stooges as influences on their press released, but aside from the abundance of chaotic energy they are jamming out on I do not hear this otherwise. A little more punk rock in their veins might do them good, as this album is propelled more by a sound than it is by songs. There may or may not be voices used more for effect, than to create anything like a traditional song, but they are likely buried in the guitar that batters the drums down to more of a tinny patter. 

The fourth song is called  "Outro" . It might as well be the first or the second song as everything is b becoming a fuzzed out blur of loud blaring guitars. It is musical enough not to be drone, but jamming with no direction in sight.  This is not done in a manner that holds much common ground with stoner metal until "China". There begins to be vague hints of vocals. A laugh here, and then muttering. At first I think my hearing loss is more severe than I normally convince myself it's not, until "Fields of Correction". I am hearing voices, perhaps this is their ploy to make these songs more interesting than they are. They make you hunt for buried vocals that are less than a whisper. There is certainly not actual singing taking place. 

"Thrust Off" is more of the same, though it seems like there might be more vocals hidden some where if you still care enough to listen for them. The rest of the album falls into a blur. Some of this falls on the production, since there really is none. It casts a new light on garage rock because it sounds like they just pressed record while playing in their garage, and I suppose there is a charm in that which might garner a select audience. I will give this a 6, as it has some fun ideas, that could have been turned into songs, if they had not lost the vocals. Making that score sit on the generous side of things. 

Rezn & Vinnum Sabbathi : "Silent Future"

Here is an expected collaboration. Chicago doom-gazers REZN are on my my favorite new bands. but I have never really heard anything from the Mexico City's Vinnum Sabbathi. I went and listened to one of the previous albums just to figure out who is doing what here. It seems the way things go is  Vinnum is all about making heavy desert stoner metal with samples as ambiance. For those of you not familiar with REZEN they make trippy shoe-gazing prog rock that leans into doom when it gets to the heavier side of the dynamics. Their strong point is vocalist  Rob McWilliams who can sing on anything and I am going to be fine with it. Now that I acquainted myself with Vinnum Sabbathi it's easy to hear where they take the lead with samples and bong crunching riffs, while REZN handles the vocal melodies and all things taking this in a more Pink Floyd direction. 

My only complaint so far is a rather uniform atmosphere haunting the second and third songs, make them bleed together, where a song like "Hypersurreal" takes the vocals on a different trip through space, and lends itself to more dynamic motion. The darker shade of ambiance add to a more morose mood that I find more pleasing. Rob cries out that he is all alone and it is believable given the stormy tension that had been haunting the song up to this point. While surreal sample narrated interludes break things up, there is a hypnotic throbbing vibe that causes a great deal of this album to glide on past in a haze of reverb soaking up Rob's vocals. There is a cool slithering riff that works a descending pattern to carry the bulk of " Morphing" 

Things take the hardest turn into psychedelia with "Obliterating Mists". It ranges from the darker moments of Pink Floyd's dystopian musings to soundings like two bands that just got stoned and jammed. Due to the songs sometimes hot boxing themselves into bong beaten trance, I am going to give this album a 9.which puts it head and shoulders above the meanders of most stoner rock bands who are tripping their nuts off, but I do not feel it's as good as REZN's last album, which is a pretty high bar for what this is it's pretty cool and worth a listen then next time 420 hits the clock.  

Queens of the Stone Age : "In New Times Roman..."

 The opening track from the band's 8th album is tinged with the kind of weird it takes multiple listens to wrap your ears around. At casual listen all the key elements are in place , though perhaps due to the almost too pristine production, they sit weird together. Homme's vocals are in his normal cadence, but the highly compressed guitars have odd effects on them.  Though not a huge departure for the band, it perhaps does not rely on grooves as heavily as "Villains" .  The second song finds the band returning to more familiar sounds, with a straight ahead rock bounce back in their blood.  By the time we get to "Negative Space" it is clear their formula for writing songs has not changed, the difference lies in how all the instruments sound, and where they sit in the mix, along with the all the extra sounds haunting the edges of the songs. 

There are some grooves but they are under a thick narcotic haze. This becomes even more exaggerated on "Made to Parade" . Midway in it feels very much like what you expect from these guys even amid the big studio tricks woven around the songs. The first single "Carnavoyeur" breaks from the predominant mood of the album by going in a more early 60s garage pop direction. The atmosphere is thicker, and the casual croon of Homme shifting over the drugged dance of instrumentation behind him. On previous albums it had become apparent they were transitioning from a stoner rock band to a psychedelic band. It is more noted on this album than perhaps even before. When the rock n roll strut of  'What the Peephole Say" saunters around , you are still seeing trails around it. 

"Sicily" is the only moment where it feels the weird gets the better of their songwriting. "Emotion Sickness" is pretty straightforward, though still finds the colors from the 60s dripping from it as well as a slight Queen influence, though the herky-jerky stays at the forefront. The album ends with the nine-minute "Straight Jacket Fitting" it creeps along the normal dark alleys you expect these guys to stumble from. It is perhaps not catchy. I will round this down to a 9.5, for that reason, the melodies are not as hooky as previous albums, there are plenty of tripped-out jams to keep you entertained and they embrace many shades of weird.  

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November is Doom- Amon Acid- " Cosmogony"

 

The English based band is doom of a space rock variety owing more of their existence to Hawkwind than Black Sabbath. Though they are heavier and more ominous than most of the psyche bands who cross over into doom. This can be more fully felt on the second song "Hyperion" where the come down with even greater weight. They do not sober up enough to scale back the atmosphere. They use exotic Middle eastern flavored chord progression to unwinds serpentine riffs on songs like "Death on the Altar" , where the riffs winding out with sublime grace while still maintaining tension. The vocals have the needed effects on them and not the greatest displays of vocal prowess, but get the job done as the narrative for this journey 

"Demolition Wave" kind of takes you away in its throbbing drone, while enjoyable it is more of a sound than a song. The sonic depth they hit you with being so much to ingest, it is still a very fun trip for your ears to be on. There is even more of a drone on "Nag Hammandi" which is somewhat eerie in the sounds that they indulge you with. The vocals are more of a chant The hypnotic lull of the one riff they mesmerize you with has little dynamic range but is a cool sound to employ. "Mandragoras" right of the jump dances with a more intoxicating groove, that is easier to belly dance to than headbang. Then they locked into a more Electric Wizard like stoner rumble. 

"Demon Rider" finds them trudges the distortion in more familiar fuzzed out valleys. The guitar riffs use wandering melodies to jam this one out. The fuzz is heavy and bulldozing with volume and power, as the keep it's groove going. They back off into more of a strum for "Ethereal Mother" . I can appreciate this for the overall dynamic shift of the album, as a song on its own accord perhaps not the most impressive. They cover more ground in terms of dynamics on the last song.  It feels like a good balance of the heavier side of what they do and the trippy vibes that give this album its own identity. I will give this album a 9.5, as it sounds great and works really well to build immersive moods. This is being released on Regain Records. 

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Dust Mountain - "Hymns For Wilderness"

 From Svart Records who is always worth checking out when ever they drop me something. This is darker psychedelic rock with a 60s vibe. The understated female vocals work really well. This is a side project of  Toni from Oranssi Pazuzu. I like the very trippy vibe to the first song that sucks you into the kind of hypnotic sonics not unlike places Swans used to tap into . It is heavy but not metal. The vocals are being handled by his sister and even the drummer from Hex Vessel is behind the kit for this project.  So hypnotic that while left to play the songs glide by rather easy on your ears, but require me going back several time to get a firmer handle on what is going on. At times there is a loose jammy feel, thought the vocals tend to pull the focus together. The second song , in some ways reminds me of the Cocteau Twins as things are allowed to dance around with an intangible atmosphere. Spellbinding in the sense it whisks you way to this surreal place. 

While the fourth song digs into a more driving rock like dynamic as it unfolds, the more moody "Margaret" gets lost as it sits between the second and fourth song. The harmonies are tighter and darker. It is a very interesting excursion . It is psychedelia but more like the Doors than some of the other places they took you on the first two songs. The fact we have female vocals here kind of diminishes the Doors feel. But it simmers in a similar way . It drifts and soars as well. If you do drugs this would be the time to do them. Funny enough the first lyrics I key in on are during this song and about dancing with the devil. The guitar tone changes to something with in common with post rock on "Village on Fire". The jammy under current still abounds. The dynamic shifts of this song are perhaps more noted. With lyrics touching on contemplating what you left behind , this is after the village has been burning awhile.

There is a much more ghostly mood to "Holy Equinox" This is contrasted by "Apollo" which has a heavy bass line leading in then the songs fades into a more folky part, though it is all very fluid. They end the album with the more folky and jammy "Bird Hymns" . This brings back some of the more 60s feel the first song had .Sax wanders around the corners of the song, and there is more of a classic prog feel. I will round this up to a 10, as it defies genres, while wistfully creating it's own sonic wonderland that s familar enough to moody souls in the shadowy places.