Tuesday 12 May 2020

Jointhugger - I Am No One (Album Review)


Release date: May 1st 2020. Label: Interstellar Smoke Records. Format: DD/Vinyl

I Am No One – Tracklisting

1.In Dire Need Of Fire Ch. 1 08:16
2.I Am No One 09:44
3.Domen 08:56
4.Nightfright 10:48

Members

Nico - Guitar/vox
Tore - Bass
Dan - Drums

Review

I Am No One is the debut full length album from Norwegian Doom/Stoner Metallers Jointhugger who used a variety of different Cosmic and Psychedelic sounds throughout this album. The music is quite raw-sounding and feels like the album was recorded live with it’s rough and ready approach the band use for the majority of the album. Though, it’s quite a vivid style of music that Jointhugger employ here with the music having a direct and aggressive Doom/Stoner Metal groove.

Opening song – In Dire Need Of Fire Ch. 1 – is loaded with top-heavy FUZZ based riffs with the band soon moving onto different and aggressive style of Doom/Stoner Metal with a trippy undercurrent of Psychedelic Rock/Metal with echoes of Black Sabbath and SLEEP being heard in the background. The song is equally as progressive with the band using the 8 minutes plus wisely to their own advantage. The song is purely instrumental with Jointhugger keeping the song flowing with rich ideas from start to finish.

Second song – I Am No One – is the second longest track on the album running almost 10 minutes in length and Jointhugger open the song with a distorted Post-Doom sound that moves along a slow pace that offers a cold atmosphere as well. The song does take time to fully find it’s rhythm but once the heavy riffs appear then Jointhugger are on menacing form playing their hybrid Psychedelic Doom/Stoner Metal style of music. The vocals from Nico are a welcome addition and you feel more connected to the album and the band itself. The heavy and dirty FUZZ sounds offer an extra layer of heaviness which makes this perhaps the standout song on the album.

Jointhugger experiment with their sound on the 2nd half of the album with Ambient Soundscapes and Post-Metallic vibes allowing this part of the album becoming slightly more sinister compared to the first song.

The final two songs – Domen and Nightfright – is the heaviest parts of the album but Jointhugger still offer moments of deliciously twisted Psychedelic Stoner Metal that leaves I Am No One being quite an adventurous and different sounding album you would initially expect.

I Am No One is an album that is bolstered by top-notch production and allows Jointhugger to play by their own rules and this makes this quite an exciting album to add to your music collection.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

I Am No One is available to buy now on DD/Vinyl from Insterstellar Smoke Records.

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