Release Date: February 1st 2023. Record Label: Nasoni Records. Formats: DD/Vinyl
Bound By Gravity: Tracklisting
The Present
The Hunger
Your Fascist Pigs Are Back
Head Of The Eye
Dirigibles
Bound By Gravity
Impeachment Abduction
I Don't Want To Be Remembered
Members
Itai Alzaradel - Guitars/Vocals
Sefi Akrish - Bass/Vocals
Mor Harpazi - Drums/Vocals
Review
Bound By Gravity is new album from Israeli Doom/Stoner Metallers Warp who showcase a mighty fine "PROTO" outlook on their spectacular style of Psychedelic Doom/Stoner Metal sounds. The album has a distinctive vintage quality which allows the heavy Proto Metal sounds that pay homage to bands such as Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus and Cathedral. There's also a slight MELVINS quality to Warp's music especially with the vocals and the destructive sludgy grooves with that twinge of Classic Heavy Rock being contained throughout.
Warp offers eight tracks here with the band playing to their creative strengths that stretch across the backdrop of 1970's Doom Metal all the way to the classic era of 90's Stoner Metal. The production and feel of the album is deeply rooted in 70's Hard Rock and Heavy Metal that offers Warp a more contemporary Garage Rock feel which you can hear in full flow on the opening track The Present.
The Present is full of distorted WEEDIAN and SABBATH grooves that interact with the freaky psychedelics and dirty sounding guitars superbly well. The vocals are catchy with a sense of flashy showmanship that comes from the classic heyday of 70's Hard Rock and Doom Metal. Though, the grooves are KING here with Warp offering extended dirty jams and guitar solos that the underground will sure go crazy for. There's a lot of AMPLIFIER based heaviness here and it serves the band well for the rest of the album.
Second song The Hunger is a Doom/Stoner based trip fully "GONE WRONG" that sees the band offer freaky Psychedelic vibes with a Progressive style of play coming into effect. The music even sees a gloomy FUZZ approach with different levels of DISTORTION that allows Warp to play their guitars with the AMPS all the way upto 11. The music can be quite chaotic in places with a Sludgy backdrop dictating the action. The music is always exciting and even not the most original, Warp does that SABBATH style of sound so brilliantly well. When the band added echoes of Spaced Out and Ambient soundbytes then Warp are now seriously doing their own "COOL" thing for one of the standout tracks on the album.
The album takes a darker political turn for the next part of the album and for the later stages as well, beginning with the socially aware and equally fascinating Your Fascists Pigs Are Back. The song has a SLEEP based energy towards the start whilst keeping with Warp's addictive 70's pounding Proto Metal energy. There's a wicked distorted guitar solo at the start which slowly builds upto a heavier style of music with fantastic drumming to match. The vocals also take a different turn with a Drone/Chant feel to them. The music is continuously heavy with a modern day approach being applied for the Post-Whatever elements that appear when the music changes into a faster style. The LOW & SLOW style of guitars is key here with Warp becoming a different band to the opening two songs.
Head Of The Eye is a more straightforward Proto-Doom based number with the band playing a slightly laid-back style of music whilst still being a heavy Doomed Out track. The music is quite Classic Rock based with Warp having fun with their music and this ends up containing some of the heaviest riffs on the album. Some excellent guitar solos are included for a song that has its own distinctive feel. Refreshingly full of 70's Hard Rock Swagger with that WEEDIAN underground flavour to stand on its own merits.
The second half of the album sees Warp become more confident with their music by playing similar creative themes heard in the first half with perhaps a HEAVY METAL identity starting to appear with excellent fifth song Dirigibles leading the charge. Influenced by BUDGIE, Saint Vitus and Black Sabbath with areas of swirling Psych/Space Rock being added for great effect.
The remaining three tracks of Bound By Gravity, Impeachment Abduction and I Don't Want To Be Remembered have their moments of dark lyrical content but Warp still play their catchy and violently aggressive DOOMED OUT grooves with flashes of Stoner Metal grittiness to sweeten the deal. The riffs are plentiful and this allows Warp to deliver an action packed album that is daring and highly imaginative when the time calls for it.
Bound To Gravity is an album that's undeniably powerful and one that demands your full attention.
Excellent and Highly Recommended.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Warp for the promo.
Bound By Gravity is available to buy now on DD/Vinyl via Nasoni Records.
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