Wednesday 31 August 2016

Old Blood - S/T (Album Review)


Release date: August 27th 2016. Label: Self Released. Format: DD

Old Blood – S/T – Tracklisting

1.Wolves 05:49
2.Glowplug 07:44
3.Silk Road Rash 06:21
4.Taking Refuge with Strangers 07:00
5.Flesh 05:25
6.Some Songs Sound the Same 06:29

Band Members:

Feathers - Vocals
Diesel - Drums
Gunner - Guitar
Octopus - Bass
Stone – Keyboards

Review:

Old Blood’s music has been called a number of things recently. As the band blend Doom, Psych, Stoner with a creepy Psychedelic Acid effect. Their S/T debut album is one I’ve been looking forward to for the past few months. Now it’s finally here. Fans of Black Sabbath, Pentagram and Uncle Acid will find much to enjoy here. The band’s main strength has to be their lead vocalist – Feathers. As she can sure hold a note to give Old Blood such a soulful groove.

Opening track – Wolves – is a creepy occult based number with twinges of murky blues rock that firmly remains in the Psychedelic Doom world. The lyrics have quite a playful vibe as they match the sultry tones coming from Feathers. If you’re here for the riffs then Old Blood have that area covered. As the music contains a heavy amount of different styles with an acid-style Fuzz based quality.

Second track – Glowplug runs for an epic eight minutes as the band start to broaden their musical horizons. Classic Doom based noises are mixed with a more modern day Occult based sound. The band takes their time in creating a psychedelic Uncle Acid style atmosphere. Though they still create their own sound. Feathers vocals are a mixture of hollow earthly blues sounds and the heavier occult doom vibes when the band play a heavier kind of Doom/Stoner Metal..

The rest of the album follows the same path as the opening two tracks though Old Blood don’t rest on their laurels. As they change the tone and atmosphere of the album a few times on the remaining four tracks. Tracks such as Silk Road Rash, Flash and Some Songs Sound The Same show that the band showing a fine eye for detail especially with the lyrics. I can hear nods to classic novels spliced throughout the album. That could be just me looking far too much into things though the lyrics have a classic feel to them.

The music itself has such a wide appeal that fans of Classic Rock, Doom Metal, Stoner Rock, Psych Rock and Blues Rock will find themselves drawn to this album. It’s a dark, creepy and hugely enjoyable affair for an album that is killer and no filler. Old Blood have delivered a stunning debut album that will soon become a firm favourite within the Doom/Stoner Metal community. 

Do yourself a favour and buy a copy of this album on whatever format you can lay your hands on. Old Blood’s debut album is an essential album to own.

Words by Steve Howe