Release
date: March 27th 2020. Label: Brutal Panda Records.
Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
Maiden
Voyage – Tracklisting
1.At
The End Of Time 01:23
2.Blue
Giant (feat. Troy Sanders of Mastodon) 03:50
3.The
Shores Of The Cosmic Ocean 01:15
4.Stormbringer
(feat. Paul Masvidal of Cynic) 04:20
5.The
Edge Of Forever 01:24
Members
Juan
Montoya / Evan Diprima
Review
Moon
Destroys is the new band from Juan Montoya (ex-Torche) and Evan
Diprima (ex-Royal Thunder). I’ve been looking forward to hearing
this record for quite a while now. As I’m a fan of both Juan and
Evan’s work with their previous bands especially with STALLONE. So
you know these guys will bring an aggressive swagger to their new
project. Moon Destroys isn’t too far off what Torche and Royal
Thunder sound like when both members were involved with each band and
still sound refreshingly different as well.
Their
debut EP – Maiden Voyage – is a breath of fresh air for
Sludge/Stoner Metal fans with it’s array of aggressive fast-paced
sounds that remain constantly fresh and engaging from start to
finish. The EP only lasts 13 minutes but Moon Destroys show their
full potential on this release.
Opening
song – At The End Of Time – is 90 seconds of fast-paced
Sludge/Doom/Stoner sounds that made Torche famous back in the day.
Though, here it’s more primal and in your face with a heavy
Psychedelic sound holding everything together.
Second
song – Blue Giant – sees Moon Destroys bring the big guns on this
release as Troy Sanders of Mastodon fame lends his vocals to this
song and writes the lyrics as well. This could have easily sounded
like Mastodon but this song is very much Moon Destroys gig but with a
little help from their famous friends. The subtle Sludge/Stoner Metal
riffs do veer into Progressive Metal territory but this is a great
song that maybe the standout song on the album. The loud and quiet
parts of the songs work really well together and make you want more.
Third
song – In The Shores Of The Cosmic Ocean – is another short
aggressive song lasting about 75 sounds and you will be impressed by
the sheer amount of heavy grooves that Moon Destroys play on this
song.
Fourth
song – Stormbringer – features Paul Masvidal of legendary Prog
Metallers – CYNIC – and features a more twisted style of music
from the band. The song is more gloomier and twisted with the dark
psychedelic sounds fitting brilliantly around Paul’s vocals. The
Sludge/Stoner Metal grooves are perhaps more evil on this song
compared to Blue Giant though it’s good to see that Moon Destroys
can experiment with their sound for a different style of music.
The
final song – The Edge Of Forever is 85 seconds of instrumental
Sludge/Stoner Metal swagger that is a great way to end the EP with.
The Doom-Pop elements are there for the most part of the song and the
atmosphere does have a cool sweet-natured atmosphere to it all.
Though, the band play a distorted drone style of music for the last
30 seconds or so.
The
only problem with Maiden Voyage is that it’s too damn short. I
wanted a couple more songs from Moon Destroys. As 13 minutes is not enough time especially with
the different themes and ideas the band have included on this EP.
I’m
hoping there is a full-length album in the works for Moon Destroys in
the near future. Until then, Maiden Voyage is a crowd-pleasing debut
EP that presses all the right buttons especially if you’re a
Sludge/Stoner Metal fan.
Words
by Steve Howe
Links: