Release
date: June
19th
2020.
Label: Riot
Season Records.
Format: DD/Vinyl
III
–
Tracklisting
1.Big
Shift
2.Rewengue
07:05 video
3.Special
Force
4.The
Piece
5.The
Beast
6.The
Whistler
Members
Tom
- Bass
Dave
- Drums
Leon
- Guitars
Luke
- Guitars
Kai
- Vocals
Review
SLOATH
have been hiding in the UK Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal Background for
the best part of two decades now and that shows no sign of changing
in the future. SLOATH have released 2 full length records and 1 EP in
their 13 year career. The band only perform live on very rare
occasions and I thought the band had split up for good after their
acclaimed 2014 album – Deep Mountain.
I’m
not going to lie when I received the promo for SLOATH new album –
III. As I was over the fucking moon. I’m a huge fan of these guys
and their blend of Doom, Drone, Sludge and Stoner Metal merged with a
heavy Psychedelic and Distorted Grooves. Imagine a band raised on a
steady and heavy diet of EARTH, Black Sabbath, SLEEP, Floor and
TORCHE. As SLOATH would be the deliciously heavy and twisted result.
III
is a massive sounding album with the band playing a truly original
style of Psychedelic Doom/Stoner Metal where heavy amounts of FUZZ
and Stereo Feedback are key with the Droned Out Vocals of Kai having
a shamanic effect.
The opening song of Big Shift is six minutes of LOUD and CRUSHING slow-played distorted guitars with a Drone/Sludge Metal texture leading the way. The music is quite catchy in places with SLOATH continuing where there last album left off but with a more Drone riff-centric groove being adapted for the majority of the album. Take in the trippy hybrid sounds that SLOATH play here as the rest of the album follows the same structure though with a few changes of musical direction along the way.
There
are six songs on the album and the majority run between 5 mins to 8
mins in length and SLOATH add a few unexpected Ambient and
Psychedelic Sounds along the way that allows their music to have a
more classic feel to it.
Songs
such as: Rewengue, Special Force and The Piece carry on the Shamanic
madness that III ultimately possess with low-tuned FUZZ based guitars
allowing the band to play some of the most weirdest, heaviest and
far-out sounds of their career so far. The vocals have a 60s/70s
freakout effect and the band feel like they’ve been helped along
the way by certain WEEDIAN influences when making this album.
If
you’re in the mood for a more freakish and psychedelic version of
Black Sabbath and SLEEP then SLOATH could be the band for you. This
is quite surreal in places with the many different styles of
Psychedelic Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal the band employ on this
album.
III
is going to require many listens to fully understand but it’s a
good job that SLOATH have included a non-stop array of finely tuned
riffs that are quite breathtaking to hear in places.
The
final song – The Whistler – is the standout song for myself with
SLOATH playing a stripped back style of music that’s played at a
deliberate slow pace.
III
is perhaps SLOATH’s most grown-up album to date and offers
long-time fans of the band a sense of familiar sounds they haven’t
heard in a long time but also allowing the music to be creatively
different and beautifully heavy from start to finish.
Riot
Season Records are once again releasing this album and they’ve
released all of the bands albums starting way back in 2010. So KUDOS
to Riot Season Records for keeping faith with SLOATH and releasing
another thrilling album from these reclusive rockers.
Overall,
III is a Top 10 Album Of The Year personally for myself and I’m
hoping that we hear more from SLOATH in the future. If not, then this
is a truly wonderful album to end their careers with.
Words
by Steve Howe
Thanks to Riot Season
Records for the promo. III will be available to buy on DD/Vinyl from
Riot Season Records from June 19th 2020.
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