Saturday 5 November 2016

BEARHUNTER: Five Tales of Doom (Album Review)


Release date: November 01st 2016. Label: Self Release. Format: CD/DD

BEARHUNTER: Five Tales of Doom – Tracklisting

1.The Grizzly 08:33
2.Swamp Thing 08:11
3.Witch Hunt 06:46
4.Abominable 06:16
5.Attack at Sea 09:17

Band Members:

Reid Rice - Guitar/Vocals
Dan Fisk - Bass/Vocals
Heath "The Beef" Saunders - Drums

Review:

Bearhunter’s style of Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal has a gloomy and murky psychedelic side to it. It gives their debut album an almost post-metal vibe. The album is imaginatively called - Bearhunter: Five Tales Of Doom. And that’s you get. Five tracks of pure Doom based Sludge/Stoner Metal riffs. The lyrics are handled superbly well throughout despite the bleak tales the band weave from the start.

The concept is five tales of hunting or battling certain types of bears and monsters – Grizzlies, Abominable Snowmen and Witches. You can tell this by the song-titles that the band has named their songs after. Bearhunter’s sound is very straight-forward at times but it still allows them to create some intriguing sounds of their own. The vocals are a mixture of clean vocals and death based growls. As the instrumental work is played at a slow to medium pace.

The band takes influence from a wide range of artists, as most bands do. Though Bearhunter become an exciting band in their own right on the standout track – Witch Hunt. This sees Bearhunter play a more droned out psychedelic doom and gloom odyssey with superb ice-cold female vocals merged with the heavier distorted growls.

If you’re a fan of Conan’s recent studio album then Bearhunter will no doubt haunt both your dreams and nightmares. The production is another highlight as it’s loud and crisp from the very start. Bearhunter never outstay their welcome on the album. Truth be told I wanted a couple of more songs from the band though the album runs for around forty minutes. Bearhunter: Five Tales Of Doom has a certain DIY feel to it. The vocals on Abominable could have done with work but I like the overall rough and ready approach of the entire album.

Bearhunter: Five Tales Of Doom is a superb and highly impressive album. Check it out as soon as you can.

Words by Steve Howe

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