Release
date: April 29th 2016. Label: When Planets Collide. Format: CD/DD
Fuckpuncher –
Tracklisting
1.
Klabautermann
2.
Snake Falls
3.
Thanagarian Snare Beast
4.
The Keeper
5.
Fuckpuncher
Band
Members:
Owen
Street - Bass/Vox,
Mathew
Ham - Drums
Review:
Welsh
Sludge/Noise/Stoner Upstarts – V A I L S – return from almost 12
months in hibernation to release their superb new EP – Fuckpuncher.
A heavy as hell sludge driven riff-fest where V A I L S harness the
craziness of The Melvins and mix it with early Mastodon style
carnage. Shades Of Torche style Doom/Sludge melodic riffs are just
the icing on the cake that is called FUCKPUNCHER.
With
this being an EP it's only on a short amount of time. 20 minutes to
be precise and it's not enough as
V
A I L S leave you wanting more. From the opening moments of first
track – Klabautermann – V A I L S create heavy punk and heavy
distorted sludge/stoner based noise. The vocals are intense
throughout from Bass Guitarist/Lead Singer – Owen. Matthew on drums
gives this duo extra weight in the volume department.
The
EP sounds superb which isn't surprising when you consider the
following talent who mastered and recorded the EP. Recorded by Joe
Garcia (OM’s live engineer) and mastered by Nick Zampiello
(Converge, torche, KEN Mode)
With
that talent involved you know this is going to sound heavy as fuck.
And it is. Swirls of Psychedelic Rock appear on second track –
Snake Falls – and you're instantly drawn into a barrage of
sludge/stoner distorted almost noise rock driven riffs.
V
A I L S have a similar sound to another well known Sludge/Doom Metal
duo mainly Sweden's – GALVANO. Well that's the vibe I pick up from
third track - Thanagarian Snare Beast. This is perhaps my fave track
on the EP as V A I L S create riffs that would give early-era
Mastodon a run for their money.
The
EP's final two tracks – The Keeper and Fuckpuncher – offer 10
minutes of crazed psychedelic noisy sludge rhythms with both songs
having a more experimental feel compared to the other songs.
Fuckpuncher is another standout track with V A I L S blending
psychedelic rock against a heavy sludge/stoner metal backdrop. Owen's
vocals could have done with more volume on this song as the riffs
almost drown him out. Which is a shame as it's perhaps Owen's best
vocal performance on the EP.
Other
than that minor complaint, Fuckpuncher is a must have release for all
you Sludge/Stoner Metal fans out there. I can't wait to hear what V A
I L S will sound like on a full length record. As they need a bigger
platform to expand their musical ideas and an EP is just not enough
for these hugely talented riffsters. Though until then, do yourself a
favour and hunt-down FUCKPUNCHER. It's a superb release.
Excellent
and Highly Recommended.
Words
by Steve Howe
Thanks
to Gareth at When Planets Collide for the promo. Fuckpuncher will be
available to buy on CD/DD from When Planets Collide on 29th
April 2016.
