Date Released: October 28th 2022. Record Label: Argonauta Records. Formats: CD/DD
Sons Of The Occult: Tracklisting
01. Electric Sheep
02. Sons Of The Occult
03. Guayota
04. Had A Blast
05. Self-taught Man
06. Death Songs
07. Dumuzid’s Descent
08. People From The Sky
09. Peyote
10. Insomnia
Review
Sons Of The Occult is the new album from Psych Stoner Rockers Thammuz who impressed the Stoner Rock underground greatly with their debut album Into The Great Unknown. This time round the band are now signed to Italian Powerhouse Cult Label Argonauta Records and the band seems to have moved into the gloomier style of Occult based Doom/Stoner Rock.
Thammuz have a greater sense of urgency to their music with a more vibrant FUZZIER and GLOOMIER sound to their music. The band is still fuelled by the legendary 90’s Californian Desert/Stoner Rock scene but this time the album now has an edgy Occult Rock sound that works superbly well with their melodic Psychedelic grooves.
The opening two songs Electric Sheep and Sons Of The Occult have Thammuz playing their high voltage blend of Psych Stoner Rock/Metal with things taking a more sinister turn on second track Sons Of The Occult. The song is more FUZZED UP and has a distinctive DISTORTED AMPLIFIER groove that still harks back to bands such as KYUSS, FU MANCHU but now with the doom riffs of Electric Wizard and Black Sabbath. The vocals are calm at first but soon move into more aggressive territory that only adds to the band’s creative presence.
Third song Guayota is a superbly played Instruemental affair with the right balance of Psych Rock, Desert Rock and Stoner Rock with heavy melodic outbursts of gloomy Fuzz Rock and Americana soundscapes for a different style of music that we haven’t heard from the band. The instrumental work is excellent with Thammuz playing a high amount of extended jams towards the end of the song.
Fourth song Had A Blast starts off slowly with a classic Truckfighters style Desert Rock solo and the vocals have a slight Alt Rock approach. The song is constantly gloomy and has a simple creative premise with the sublime guitars at the start before Thammuz explode into a heavier style of Stoner Rock/Metal. Perhaps one of the standout tracks on the album that demands repeated listens.
Thammaz has written and recorded ten songs for this album and I will be here all day describing in great detail what each song contains. The first four tracks give you a good indication on where the rest of the album ends up. Though, Thammuz do have a few more creative tricks up their sleeve for other songs on the album such as: Had A Blast, Self Taught Man, Dumuzid’s Descent, Peyote and Insomnia.
The band started mixing things up a bit and even showed musical influence from bands such as The Doors on Self-taught Man. The vocals and lyrics most definitely do have a Jim Morrision swagger to them but all told through the power of Stoner Rock/Metal.
Things do become gloomier, heavier, sinister and even weirder on the later stages of the album. This doesn’t feel or sound like the Thammuz I encountered on their acclaimed debut release. Thammuz now has a more dangerous presence around them and I admire their new bleak creative vision.
The album is refreshingly daring and different to standout from the Stoner Rock/Metal underground. Production values are excellent with the band offering a more realistic approach with their music. Sons Of The Occult is a rebellious and thrilling album that will offer all fans of the Doom/Stoner Metal underground scene a damn good time.
Excellent and Highly Recommended.
Words by Steve Howe
You can hear the album with this exclusive album premiere courtesy of Grand Sounds PR and Argonauta Records
Sons Of The Occult will be available to buy from October 28th 2022 via Argonauta Records from October 28th 2022.
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