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 to explore new realms of ambiance 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 are going to 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. 

 

 pst241