Release Date: November 11th 2020. Label: Self Released. Format: DD
Quest For Oblivion - Tracklisting
Collapse
Black It Out
End Over End
Fell Across The Sky
Fear
Nothing Behind
Hypersonic
Titans
Members
Brian Steel (bass)
Keith Hastreiter (drum)
Todd Lucas (vox)
Review
Quest For Oblivion is the debut full length album from Seattle based Doom/Stoner Rockers Sun Crow and it’s an album that takes Seattle’s rich and iconic Grunge History and moulds it with a dark gloomy claustrophobic sense of style. The band take the style of Alice In Chains and Soundgarden and run with a despairing Black Sabbath sonic take on all things Doom Metal. Though, Sun Crow take a more Progressive Rock/Metal journey with the majority of the songs lasting between 9 to 11 minutes in length.
Opening song - Collapse - is quite daring in all the right places with the band operating at their own speed with different elements of Doom/Stoner Metal leading the way. The vocals are an interesting choice with a mixture of Clean and Harsh Growls that fit firmly more in the Doom/Sludge Metal camp with a touch of Psychedelic Weirdness giving a more surreal and trippy effect that is superbly heavy on different parts of the song.
Second song - Black It Out - starts very slowly with Sun Crow in no rush to pick up the pace with an interesting style of Distorted grooves and slowly played grooves. It’s still quite heavy with a more “Drone” based quality to it all. A few moments into the song and Sun Crow start playing faster and tighter riffs that soon bring a Black Sabbath flow to the album and it’s a welcome sound still retaining Sun Crow’s vision for the majority of the epic 10 minute plus running time.
There is a lot to take in with Quest For Oblivion. As it runs for around 70 minutes and the majority of that time is taken up by Sun Crow showing how good they are at writing bleak progressive sounds trapped within the Grunge, Doom and Stoner Metal world. The album's best moments are when the Psychedelic moments appear and when Sun Crow slows things right down and let their creative ideas breathe naturally.
Sun Crow finest moments on this album perhaps on the later stages with songs such as Fear, Nothing Behind, Hypersonic and Titans. As the music is more focused here and the more interesting and heaviest riffs appear on the final two songs of Hypersonic and Titans.
Quest For Oblivion is the debut full length album from Seattle based Doom/Stoner Rockers Sun Crow and it’s an album that takes Seattle’s rich and iconic Grunge History and moulds it with a dark gloomy claustrophobic sense of style. The band take the style of Alice In Chains and Soundgarden and run with a despairing Black Sabbath sonic take on all things Doom Metal. Though, Sun Crow take a more Progressive Rock/Metal journey with the majority of the songs lasting between 9 to 11 minutes in length.
Opening song - Collapse - is quite daring in all the right places with the band operating at their own speed with different elements of Doom/Stoner Metal leading the way. The vocals are an interesting choice with a mixture of Clean and Harsh Growls that fit firmly more in the Doom/Sludge Metal camp with a touch of Psychedelic Weirdness giving a more surreal and trippy effect that is superbly heavy on different parts of the song.
Second song - Black It Out - starts very slowly with Sun Crow in no rush to pick up the pace with an interesting style of Distorted grooves and slowly played grooves. It’s still quite heavy with a more “Drone” based quality to it all. A few moments into the song and Sun Crow start playing faster and tighter riffs that soon bring a Black Sabbath flow to the album and it’s a welcome sound still retaining Sun Crow’s vision for the majority of the epic 10 minute plus running time.
There is a lot to take in with Quest For Oblivion. As it runs for around 70 minutes and the majority of that time is taken up by Sun Crow showing how good they are at writing bleak progressive sounds trapped within the Grunge, Doom and Stoner Metal world. The album's best moments are when the Psychedelic moments appear and when Sun Crow slows things right down and let their creative ideas breathe naturally.
Sun Crow finest moments on this album perhaps on the later stages with songs such as Fear, Nothing Behind, Hypersonic and Titans. As the music is more focused here and the more interesting and heaviest riffs appear on the final two songs of Hypersonic and Titans.
You can hear shades of early era Monster Magnet on this record on the final few songs. So be prepared for when the album takes upon a more Space Rock flavour that the legendary band made famous back in the day.
The instrumental work is fantastic with heavy guitars and intelligent drumming leading the way. Everything all leads up to an album that is perfectly executed in the riffs and volume department. Maybe, 70 minutes is slightly too long for some but I can’t suggest which songs should have been left off the album. As everything feels naturally in it’s correct place.
If you’re in the mood for a slightly darker and epic style of Grunge, Doom and Stoner Metal then this is the album for you. Sun Crow have delivered a monolithic monster with this album. The album is loud, mean and aggressive with enough attitude to have listeners nodding in agreement.
Excellent and Highly Recommended.
Words by Steve Howe
The instrumental work is fantastic with heavy guitars and intelligent drumming leading the way. Everything all leads up to an album that is perfectly executed in the riffs and volume department. Maybe, 70 minutes is slightly too long for some but I can’t suggest which songs should have been left off the album. As everything feels naturally in it’s correct place.
If you’re in the mood for a slightly darker and epic style of Grunge, Doom and Stoner Metal then this is the album for you. Sun Crow have delivered a monolithic monster with this album. The album is loud, mean and aggressive with enough attitude to have listeners nodding in agreement.
Excellent and Highly Recommended.
Words by Steve Howe
