Date Released: October 07th 2022. Record Label: From The Urn Records. Formats: Cassette/DD
Remember The Earth But Never Come Back: Tracklisting
From Sea To Empty Sea
Agony
Wretched And Low
All Things Are Temporary
Sic Transit Mundus
Members
Jay - Vocals
Mike - Bass
Chris S - Drums
Cee Vee - Guitars (Lead)
Tyler B (Rhythm)
Review
Remember The Earth But Never Come Back is the new album from Canadian Doom/Sludge Metallers Grales and it's a very bleak, loud and gloomy affair that even manages to veer into Spaced Out Climates on certain stages of the album.
The vocals are harsh and desolate that firmly remain in the more extreme style of vocals for the majority of the album. Grales play a modern day blend of Sludge/Doom Metal that could be considered Post-Blackened Sludge or Post-Metal for the more lengthy sounds that appear on the later stages of the album. There's a lot of different musical variety on this album with Grales taking influence from bands such as THOU, CONAN, Neurosis, ISIS and YOB in places.
The excellent opening song From Sea To Empty Sea has a GOJIRA feel with the vocals, lyrics and progressive Psych grooves with the band even offering a down-tuned and distorted style of music for this song. The atmosphere has a slighty muddy DOOM vibe allowing Grales to play a more frantic and heavier style of Sludge Metal. Though, Grales move from this style of music that will surprise you mostly on the second half of the album.
Second track Agony goes even further with the distorted and experimental sounds which show a slight flicker of melodic riffs before bringing a more "glitchy" brand of sludgy extended jams. The song has a slow but exciting start where Grales even manage to play some harsh Stoner Metal riffs that was a welcome surprise. The extended guitar sequences had a vibrant flow to them before Grales add their standard harsh Doom/Sludge Metal overtones to the mix. The excellent sounding vocals gives a more sense of urgency and slight feeling of decay to the album. Though, it's the music that flirts between bleak "Post-Black" vibes to the modern day Stoner Metal grooves make this one of the standout tracks on the album.
Third song Wretched And Low opens with a Hardcore style of different Psychedelic Metal with Ambient/Spaced Out flavours soon giving way to a more violent style of music. The song feels like an extended continuation of the last track but with Grales operating with a wilder style of Ambient Metal and Psych Rock. The song has the right balance of down-tuned heaviness and distorted rhythms that show a slightly different side to Grales.
The final two tracks of All Things Are Temporary and Sic Transit Mundus brings an ISIS (The Band) and YOB sonic creativity with the music being more serene and peaceful compared to the other tracks. However, both tracks have many fine moments of DOWN-TUNED and DISTORTION that can be quite deafening in places. The Psychedelic and Spaced Out flavours is one of the albums main strengths along with the brutally engaging vocals from Jay.
Remember The Earth But Never Come Back is a well-produced and excellent sounding album if you dig your Doom/Sludge Metal on the heavier DISTORTED side of life. The creative mood of the entire album is complex and engaging thanks to the brutal sounds, superb harsh vocals and sublime lyrics Grales have written for this album.
My final thoughts is that Remember The Earth But Never Come Back is a first rate album that brilliantly showcases everything I love about the Doom/Sludge Metal Underground scene.
Check this album out now...
Words by Steve Howe
Remember The Earth But Never Come Back is available to buy on DD from BandCamp now and Cassette Tape via From The Urn Records.
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