Release
date: November 20th 2015. Label: Black Bow Records. Format: DD
Flooding
The Weir – Tracklisting
01
I Mean You No Harm (part 1)
02
Running Battle
03
The Technique
04
Celeste
05
March Of The 1000 Volt Ghost
06
I Mean You No Harm (part 2)
Kalceanna –
Tracklisting
01
Griefhound
02
By Thor
03
Mans Hands
04
Dirt By The Stooges
05
Meanwhile
06
Viking Sea
Band
Members:
David
: Guitar
Chris
: Guitar
Marty
Harvey : Vocals, Drums
Ex-Member
Joe (Drums) originally played on both albums before Marty joined in
2011.
Review:
For
the past decade, the purveyors of skullcrushing heaviness that are
Belfasts Slomatics have been pounding audiences into dust with their
all encompassing brand of slow and heavy doom. The bands new record
label Black Bow records (which is run by Jon Davis of the mighty
Conan) have reissued their first two albums 2005s Flooding The Weir
and 2007s Kalceanna and gives fans who may have missed them the first
time a chance to be blown away at the mindfucking riffs that are on
show and with no remastering or anything like that on these reissues,
this is Slomatics at their primal best.
The
world of heavy music was introduced to the world of Slomatics in 2005
with Flooding The Weir, an introduction to the tortoise slow and
elephant heavy sound that the band have become well known for. On
most of the tracks on Flooding a The Weir, the vocals are few and far
between but the bands music is just as effective without them
(although the pained barks, when they do occur are a joy to behold)
and the band just let the hefty music do the talking, the riffs,
heavy as any you will hear and paced as if on mogadon are the focal
point but are enhanced by the pounding drums and the sludgy dirge of
the bass play a big part as well.
The
album is bookended by I Mean You No Harm (Part 1) and I Mean You No
Harm (Part 2), two substantial slabs of riffs and noise that both
open and close the album perfectly and demonstrate perfectly the
crushing Slomatics sound and with the likes of Running Battle, March
Of The 1000 Volt Ghost and The Technique, Slomatics get the head
banging and head melting blend of heaviness just right.
The
albums highlight, the wonderful dirge of Celeste, starts off with a
mournful into before those riffs swoop in and destroy all in its path
and with the vocals sounding as if they were recorded in the pits of
hell, it's doom laden goodness of the best kind.
By
the time you have reached the end of Flooding The Weir with those
riffs ringing in your ears, you will feel in awe at just how crushing
the experience was and will want to experience it all over again.
Slomatics
released the follow up to Flooding The Weir in 2007 and that album
Kalceanna takes the foundation that was started with that album and
turns everything up considerably. While the bands debut was clouded
in fuzzy riffs, the riffs on Kalceaana are still fuzzy but a tad
cleaner and are, if anything, even heavier than the riffs that
defined its predecessor. Just listen to the opening riff for starters
on first track Griefhound and you will hear them in action, the riffs
are so heavy they could bring down tower blocks! The bass and drums
are still as heavy too with the bass just as dirgey and filthy as in
the bands debut and the drums just as pounding and when these three
elements are brought together the results are devastating.
The
likes of the heavy sludge of By Thor and the impenetrable force of
Mans Hands are supreme lessons in how to do heavy music the right way
and the magnificently titled Dirt By The Stooges is as slow and
crushing as it gets. Album standout, Meanwhile starts as with an
intro that is as beautiful as it is full of sorrow before all hell
breaks loose and the sound of menace is unleashed throughout the
song.
Kalceanna
features more vocals on the album, a brutal set of vicious barks set
to attack (best witnessed on Mans Hands or Meanwhile for example) and
the bands none more heavier sound gets heavier as a result. The album
finishes with Viking Sea, an epic 11 minute plus tidal wave of
heaviness and doom and this song has to be the most complete
encapsulation of the Slomatics sound and a fitting way to finish
things off.
When
you listen to these albums back to back you can see how Slomatics
sound evolved and actually gets heavier and considering how heavy the
band were to begin with, this is something to be in awe of.
Slomatics
will have a brand new album out on Black Bow next year so while you
eagerly wait for that sure to be monster of an album, sit back and
let these first two albums devour you whole and appreciate the
beginnings of one of the heaviest bands Britain has ever produced.
Words
by Gavin Brown
Thanks
to Dewar and Black Bow Records for both promos. Kalceanna and
Flooding The Weir are available to buy on DD via Black Bow Records on all digital
platforms now.
Links:
