Release Date: August 05th 2022. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD
Fury of Pegāna - Tracklisting
1.Lord Of All The Waters 02:43
2.Chaunt 06:32
3.Preacher 08:51
4.Ritual 07:34
5.Crust Of The Earth 04:51
6.All Hail The Flood 08:03
Review
Fury of Pegāna is the debut album from Sludge/Doom Metallers BOZ. The band comes from Gateshead located in North East England and i live quite near where these guys are from. I’m always excited to hear what the local scene has to offer and BOZ don’t disappoint. Taking cues from bands such as High On Fire, Metallica and Crowbar but with a more Doom Metal based drive. There are traces of Groove Metal entwined with their music for a more heavy approach to their music.
Fury of Pegāna is a well constructed release with seriously good production values. The music is your standard Doom/Sludge Metal flair but one that has a powerful melodic style with the “Groove Metal” element fitting in quite nicely with BOZ’s love and affinity for High On Fire riffage. There’s a cool sounding Psychedelic vibe going on in the background with some deft Prog Metal touches which you can hear on the stunning two opening two tracks Lord Of All The Waters and Chaunt.
Lord Of All The Water offers sublime instrumental sludge riffs with an understated feel and flow to it all. Not how I expected the song to be but BOZ starts the album off with some interesting creative choices that are quite original in places.
Chaunt is a different story altogether with BOZ fusing the finest heavier moments of High On Fire and Crowbar with a kick-ass melodic Groove Metal sound bringing a flashier style of music into play. The instrumental work is superb with many throwbacks to the mid 2000's Relapse Metal scene. The song includes some frantic dual/twin guitar action that ranks as some of the most exciting parts of the album.
Third track Preacher is BOZ going full “THRASH METAL” with a Doom Metal perspective being heard through the vocals and lyrics. Jagged thrash guitars work quite well with the Sludge Metal environment BOZ mainly use to deliver their harsh melodies and volatile breakdowns. A throwback to the good old days of 80’s Thrash Metal but with a gloomier outlook.
BOZ continues with the classic throwback style of Sludge, Doom, Thrash and Groove Metal on the remainder of the album with tracks such as Ritual and All Hail The Flood being the main highlights here. The music is more progressive here and it could have easily backfired on the band. However, BOZ remain fully committed playing their own blend of music that whilst not the most original, still offers a wide range of PURE HEADBANGING ENERGY.
Fury of Pegāna is an exciting debut album showcasing a band who deliver their own wonderful style of Doom/Sludge Metal that also lovingly respects other genres of Heavy Metal for a brilliantly entertaining slice of Modern Day Metal.
Words by Steve Howe
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