Chaotic Hunters Rise - Tracklisting
1.Orb (Dissonant Whispers) 06:14
2.Pillory 03:38
3.I'll Be Alone 06:08
4.Chaotic Hunters Rise, Pt. I 04:20
5.Incorporeal Transcendence 03:01
6.Chaotic Hunters Rise, Pt. II 04:07
7.Blood-Trail 05:35
8.Mired in the Ashen Haze 02:49
Members
Timothy Todd Cook - Drums
Katie Hutchinson - Bass
Seth Augustus Hutchinson - Guitar, Vocals
Review
Chaotic Hunters Rise is the debut album from Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metals Weight Shift and this shows what happens if bands such as Mastodon, The Sword or Restless Spirit spent too much time playing Dungeons & Dragons in their youths. This album is powered by a wonderfully OTT Fantasy Metal Creative Theme with the music being driven by a powerful Progresssive Sludge/Stoner Metal sound.
Opening song Orb (Dissonant Weapon) is a Psychedelic and Sonic based track that moves from gloomier soundscapes with heavy slabs of Sludge/Stoner Metal and haunting vocals to match. The music is quite progressive with a slightly adventurous style that allows Weight Shift channel the mid era dynamics of The Sword but one that also owes a huge debt of gratitude to Ronnie James Dio where the lyrics are concerned. This shouldn’t really work as it does but there’s a powerful and rich lyrical energy behind it all.
Second song Pillory has a more grunge based attitude with the Psychedelic gloomier aspects having a more free flowing musical delivery to them. The music is wonderfully eerie and melodic with Weight Shift channelling that Mastodon-esque sound once again but their fantasy metal ege allows the band to pull away and create their own highly imaginative sound. There are huge sounding sonic based riffs to be found on this track with the haunting vocals adding more heaviness to Weight Shift’s overall sound
Third song I’ll Be Alone opens with a cool sounding Post-Rock/Post-Stoner instrumental sound before the band venturing into sludgy and aggressive waters that becomes quite fast-paced at times. The song contains some of the best vocals on the album with the music not being too far behind. There’s a great balance of nineties sounding Psych Stoner Metal merging with the modern day based Post-Doom/Post-Rock grooves that allow this track to become one of the best tracks on the album.
Weight Shift continues playing their self described “Sword And Sandal” based Psych Sludge/Stoner Metal for the remainder of the album. There’s a lot to take in with this album. As Weight Shift play many different styles of Sludge/Stoner Metal whilst focusing on writing fantastical based lyrics.
Other great tracks to check out are: Chaotic Hunters Rise Pt. I, Chaotic Hunters Rise Pt. II, Blood Trail and Mired In The Ashen Haze. Weight Shift even found the time to play a more depressing style of music on both Chaotic Hunters Rise Pt. I and Pt. II.
The album does have a distinctive DIY sound and that is shown within the sound of the album. The production values aren’t necessarily the best I’ve heard but they get the job done and allow Weight Shift to be a welcome addition to the Sludge/Stoner Metal Underground Scene.
Chaotic Hunters Rise is a superbly inventive album that will keep you entertained for a long time to come.
Excellent and Highly Recommended.
Words by Steve Howe
Links
