Release Date: 01st Jan 2021: Record Label: Self Released: Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
Nihilistic Stoner Hymns - Tracklisting
Burn The Goat
Blood Ritual
(Welcome To) Drug Mountain
Faceless Dog
Southern Bastard Church
Melonheads
Succubus Fucks
Band Members
Jon Mlyniec - vocals
Jon Harrison - guitar
Erik Barrett - bass
Randall Colburne - drums
Review
Nihilistic Stoner Hymns is the new album from Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal unit Afghan Haze and it’s the perfect title for their bleak style of music. The album is a mixture of Blackened Sludge grooves but spliced with the classic Doom/Stoner Metal sounds you would expect for an album such as this. There is a bleak psychedelic backdrop that the band adds to the mix for a more bone-crunching sound and pissed off vocals to match.
Afghan Haze are never going to be the band that creates uplifting and soulful grooves as this album’s heart is Pitch Black but there is a lot of cool Psychedelic and Progressive riffs that can be heard from the excellent opening song - Burn The Ghost. A winning combination of slow-paced riffs and warped ideas that allow Afghan Haze create an almost “NOLA” style of music especially towards the later stages of the song.
Second song - Blood Ritual - is a more fast-paced affair with the band playing a down-tempo style of music with pissed off guitars leading the way. The intense drumming and bass guitar are perhaps the best parts of this song with them having a more aggressive feel to them. The song can be quite choppy in places but this gives Afghan Haze a more “real life” sound to them. Nothing feels or sounds over-produced. This is a band playing to their strengths and offering a more brutal style of Sludge/Stoner Metal compared to their previous releases.
The album moves slightly into Progressive Sludge territory on the more lengthier tracks such as Faceless Dog and Southern Bastard Church. I can hear influences such as Motorhead and High On Fire on this part of the album and these two songs ended up being my favourite part of the album. Afghan Haze feel more focused here and play some of the best and heaviest songs on the record right here.
The final two songs Melonheads and Succubus Fucks aren’t the strongest songs on the album but they do allow Afghan Haze to end the album how they originally started and that’s with a final 13 minute onslaught of modern aggressive Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal sounds that leave you wanting more.
Overall, Nihilistic Stoner Hymns is a thrilling and superbly well made record that will entertain you throughout the bleak Winter Months of 2021.
Excellent and Highly Recommended.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Afghan Haze for the promo. Nihilistic Stoner Hymns is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl.
Links
Facebook | BandCamp
