Release
date: April 28th 2017. Label: Translation Loss Records. Format:
CD/DD/Vinyl
The
Tides Will Prevail – Tracklisting
1.33rd Parallel
10:43
2.1913 11:18
3.Curse of Tecumseh
09:04
4.Sleeping Prophet
06:49
5.Nature of Empire
13:48
Members:
Doug McGinnis-Bass
Tyler Barrett- guitar
Jimmy Magnuson- drums
Rick Shutte- Guitar
Kenny Jones- guitar
Review
It's
hard to believe that The Tides Will Prevail is Kenoma's debut album.
I remember these guys releasing a split record with Mouth Of The
Architect a decade ago. It's good to see Kenoma finally releasing
this album as they have created a highly emotional instrumental
sludge/doom/post-metal album. First and foremost, Kenoma create their
own sound on this album. They don't "copy" other bands
style of music and that's a very hard thing to accomplish within the
Instrumental Rock/Metal genre.
Opening
track - 33rd Parallel - is an almost eleven minute opus as Kenoma
play slow-paced doom tinged sludge/post-metal riffs with touches of
psychedelic prog rock being added as well. It's quite soothing at
times even with the gloomy mood lurking in the background. The
instrumental work has a cool progressive feel that shows that Kenoma
can really play their instruments. The song is quite challenging to
listen to at times as the song goes through a couple of signature
changes but Kenoma keep the mood exciting and fresh.
Second
track - 1913 - opens with a more operatic feel compared to the
opening track. A subtly played instrumental riffs and a thunderous
soundclip only heightens the mood with slowly played
ambient/post-rock music bringing the song to life. It does take time
for the song to fully get going but before then you're treated to
some beautifully played ambient/post-rock music that leaves you quite
peaceful with the world. Before Kenoma return to their heavier
Doom/Post-Metal sounds. This is another deliberately slow-paced song
and it works in Kenoma's favour. As they have time to create music
with more depth and soul compared to other instrumental
doom/post-metal bands. It's good to hear the band play a faster style
of music towards the end of the song as it shows they can create a
faster and more brutal style of music when the time calls for it.
The
other three songs on the album - Curse Of Tecumseh, Sleeping Prophet
and Nature Of Empire follow the same path as the opening two tracks
but with Kenoma showing signs of sonic experimentation with sounds of
distortion coming into play especially on Curse Of Tecumseh. The
Tides Of Prevail is an intelligent and thought provoking album and I
hope this finds an audience within the Doom/Post-Metal community.
As
it's an album with a lot to say and I don't want Kenoma to wait
around for another decade to release something new. The Tides Will
Prevail is an album that speaks volumes and one that demands your
full attention.
Words
by Steve Howe
Thanks to Shannon at
Perfect World Promotions for the promo. The Tides Will Prevail is
available to buy on CD/DD now via Translation Loss Records. The Vinyl
will be released in June 2017.
