1.Before The Fall 06:45
2.Gates of Moss 06:40
3.Black Tundra 05:38
4.Blinded by the Northern Lights 05:19
5.Circling the Dead 04:14
6.No Dawn 07:25
Members:
Black Tundra is another upcoming Doom/Sludge Metal band from Poland. Playing a style of music that's familiar to everyone who religiously follows the Doom/Sludge Metal scene. Black Tundra has still managed to create an exciting album full of psychedelic grooves with a touch of Stoner Metal heaviness thrown in for good measure. Their S/T debut album has a delicate balance of heavy as heck riffs and almost hardcore style vocals.
Words by Steve Howe
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3.Black Tundra 05:38
4.Blinded by the Northern Lights 05:19
5.Circling the Dead 04:14
6.No Dawn 07:25
Members:
Dave - guitars
Tomek Sikora - guitars
Marcin Skarzyński - bass/voc
Blond - drums
Review
Opening track - Before
The Fall - installs a sense of calm with a superbly played
post-rock/post-metal style instrumental passage before giving way to
a thunderous sludge/stoner riffs with the doom and gloom atmospherics
not too far behind. The vocals add an unsettling feel as you can hear
influences from a wide range of artists within the doom hemisphere.
Black Tundra becomes a more exciting prospect when they slow things
down and play a calmer style of atmospheric doom/post-rock riffs. It
allows their music to grow naturally whilst still offering moments of
heavy stoner/sludge sounds in the background.
Second track - Gates Of
Moss - sees Black Tundra play a more distorted fuzz/doomier sound
with the riffs being played at a deliberately slow pace. The song is
purely instrumental and it's perhaps the most exciting track on the
album. As Black Tundra create an exciting style of sludge/post-metal
that reminds me of early Pelican at times though the drums are way
heavier.
Third track - Black
Tundra - is played at a faster pace with the superb vocals from -
Marcin - making a welcome appearance with the band playing a
stop-start Post-Rock/Post-Metal approach with heavy sludge riffs
appearing towards the end of the song.
The whole feel of the
album sees the band trying to find the perfect balance of their
different sounds against the vocals. For the most part they succeed
as this album is superbly put together. I wish the band did include
more vocals on some of the songs such as Blinded By The Northern
Lights as that feels directly influenced by Pelican. The vocals would
have established their sound more and perhaps banish all instances of
Pelican being mentioned. Though I gotta admit this song is one of the
best tracks on the album especially when Black Tundra inject a more
upbeat psychedelic vibe.
The final two tracks -
Circling The Dead and No Dawn - sees Black Tundra return to the
albums earlier heavier Doom/Sludge Metal sounds as they play heavy
psychedelic sounds that leave you wanting more. For a debut album,
Black Tundra proves they have some intriguing ideas of their own.
I
hope for future releases they trust their instincts more as the album
is more exciting when they let go of the shackles in creating their
own sound. Overall this is an impressive and well-crafted debut
album.
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