Release
date: October 06th 2017. Label: Czar Of Revelations.
Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
Volva
– Tracklisting
II
III
IV
V
Members
Lukas Fürer
Jonathan Schmidli
Renato Matteucci
Review
Echolot
is a band who I didn't know much about before listening to their
debut album - Volva. Comprising of four lengthy compositions that
merges Psychedelic Rock, Prog Rock, Doom and Heavy Stoner Sounds.
Imagine a more experimental version of Elder but with Echolot still
creating their own sound. Echolot album is progressively heavy and
spaced out on different parts of the album. With the shortest song
clocking under eleven minutes. Echolot are a band who creates
cinematic soundscapes to build their heavy and dense doom based
sounds upon.
Opening
track - II - starts with a slowly played rhythm before expanding into
a heavier style of progressive doom based Stoner Rock with trippy
flourishes of psych sounds adding a subtle echo effect. The vocals
are not the most polished but they're supremely delivered with style
and confidence. The ambient sounds add real to the whole tone of the
album. Echolot find a way to include heavier sludgier guitars towards
the end of the song.
Second
track - III - is another heavy ride of spaced out doom sounds with
the band feeling more comfortable creating their doom/psychedelic
environment. The vocals have a classic prog rock feel. As Echolot
feel influenced by Monster Magnet TAB era. The droned out guitars
soon give way to a more standard heavy stoner/psych rock sound. Heavy
slow played riffs that never outstay their welcome as Echolot try
their hand at a more progressive rock approach. The music drifts from
many heavy different musical environments with Echolot writing lyrics
that have a slight All Them Witches influence. Very Americana in
parts but still wildly addictive.
The
final two songs IV and V offers almost thirty three minutes of
intense psych/prog based riffs with Echolot proving once again
highlighting their Doom/Stoner Metal credentials. With expertly
played music matched against superbly sung vocals and the band
showing a keen interest in sonic experimentation. IV is a great song
indeed but it takes a while to fully get going. With the band opting
for a slower style of doom/prog rock. It can be very emotional at
times with the lyrics and vocals having quite a heartfelt approach.
The
final song - V - offers a more surreal and heavy affair with trippy
ambient noises being the main key when played against the heavy
psych/stoner riffs. Volva is expertly produced from start to finish
with the sound of the album having the right balance between the
heavier and quieter moments of the album. Volva is a complex album
with many different ideas and themes running throughout.
With
the album running under 55 minutes, the album could have easily
become lost with the many different ideas that Echolot created on
Volva. However, Echolot have created a stunning and wildly exciting
release. Fans of Psych/Doom/Stoner based music should urgently check
out now.
Words by Steve
Howe
Thanks
to Frederyk at Czar Of Revelations. Volva will be available to buy on
CD/DD via Czar Of Revelations from October 06th
2017.
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