Release
date: October 29th 2015. Label: Self Released. Format: DD
Dread
Marches Under Bloodied Regalia – Tracklisting
1.A
Fool's Errand 06:05
2.Corpulent
Warlord 10:13
3.Consummation
of the Sanguine Rite 07:41
4.The
Siege of Uthur's Keep 11:14
5.Encircling
Demons 03:03
6.Abarath
Pass (The Road to Dominion) 10:43
Band
Members:
Jono
Gilmour - Electric and acoustic guitar
Joshua
Hickey - Drums and percussion
Rhys
Walmsley - Bass and vocals
Review:
Rountable's
debut album - Dread Marches Under Bloodied Regalia - is one that's
generating a lot of excitement with the Doom/Stoner Blogging
community. My good pal Billy Goate of Doomed & Stoned has already
give this album some very high praise indeed with his excellent
recent review.
Roundtable's
music is very hard to describe. Parts Doom, Sludge, Stoner,
Post-Metal and a ton of Folk Metal battle style mythology to give the
band a great sound of their own. The album is quite a complex musical
journey and one that will take a few listens to fully understand.
Some people have been saying this is what High On Fire would sound
like if they ventured into the realm of Folk/Medieval Metal.
The
riffs are played at a slow pace with different musical instruments
drifting in and out of the equation. Second track – Corpulent
Warlord – has a slight Mastodon feel though with added acoustic
instruments to give Roundtable a real sense of originality and
excitement. The riffs are stripped back, de-constructed and then
given a Medieval feel. This is full on Sludge Battalion Metal.
The
vocals are what you expect from an album such as this. Loud, brash,
confident and a little bit cocky in places but that's good as these
guys give you the impression they're not meant to be FUCKED WITH!!!
One
of the albums strengths is how Roundtable experiment with their sound
and put genres you wouldn't expect to work. Stoner-Folk. It sounds
crazy I know but trust me when songs such as The Siege of Uthur's
Keep and Abarath Pass (The Road to Dominion) appear you will be so
engrossed you won't notice the epic run time pass you by.
Only
3 of the songs contains vocals as such as the other 3 tracks are
purely instrumental but it's good to hear the band focus on the riffs
instead of the vocals. The production is first rate through out and
the band deserve as much credit they can possibly get for creating an
epic and expansive album such as this.
I
don't know what's happening with the Australian Doom/Sludge/Stoner
Metal scene at the moment as they're providing a ton of awesome bands
to check out. Roundtable just maybe the weirdest and most far-out
band to come from the Aussie Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal scene.
Dread
Marches Under Bloodied Regalia is an excellent album. Check it out.
Words
by Steve Howe
Thanks
to Roundtable for the promo.