Saturday 28 January 2017

SAIL - Slumbersong (Album Review)


Release date: March 03rd 2017. Label: Hibernacula Records. Format: CD/DD

Slumbersong – Tracklisting

1 - Praise And Hatred
2 - Righteous
3 - The Weight Of Gold
4 - Ghosts
5 - Bloodhound
6 - The House
7 - Old Tom
8 - Shimmer
9 - Slumbersong

Band Members

Tom Coles - Drums
Charlie Dowzell - Guitars/Vocals
Tim Kazer - Guitars/Vocals
Kynan Scott - Bass Guitars

Review

Sail's debut album - Slumbersong - is one that works on many different levels. A progressive journey into the familiar sounds of Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal but still showcasing a band with their own vision. Influenced by bands such as Yob, Torche, Mastodon and Pallbearer. Very diverse indeed. The one thing that I admire most about this album is how it sounds. It's not overly produced and in some cases it still holds a DIY raw feel. It allows the music to flow naturally. 

Opening track - Praise And Hatred - starts with a progressive sludge groove with pounding drums and guitars. The tone and atmosphere of the song never stays the same as Sail change directions multiple times. This sets the structure for the whole album as Sail change their sound for the majority of the album.

It's a brave decision as the album could have easily become bogged down under the albums many different ideas. Songs such as: Righteous, The Weight Of Gold, Ghosts, and Shimmer is where Sail impress the most. The songwriting is immense with intelligent lyrics matching the powerful progressive sludge/stoner grooves. The vocals on Ghosts could have done with more work. Lead vocalist Charlie and Tim both put in very good performances indeed. There are a few moments where the vocals are drowned out by the heavier riffs.

You can tell that Sail have been studying the American Progressive Sludge/Stoner Metal scene religiously. Though that's not an issue as Sail have delivered an album that will appeal to the wider Sludge/Stoner Metal community. One of the main highlights of the album is how Sail fuse ambient psychedelic/post-rock noises with heavier progressive riffs.

I know that some people will disagree with Sail being called Sludge/Stoner Metal. Sure, they maybe more melodic and focus more on the vocals. That doesn’t stop Sail being creating a huge amount of heavy Sludge/Stoner based riffs. Nor does it stop Slumbersong being a must have album.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Dewar PR for the promo. Slumbersong will be available to buy via Hibernacula Records on CD/DD from March 3rd 2017.

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