Orbiter - Hollow World (Album Review)

Release Date: September 22nd 2023. Record Label: Argonauta Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Hollow World - Tracklisting

Silence Breaks

Beneath

Kolibri

Hollow World

Raven Bones

Transmissions

Under Your Spell

Last Call

Members

Carolin - Vocals

Alexander - Guitars

Tuomas - Bass

Sami - Drums

Review

Hollow World is the new album from Finnish Psych Doom/Stoner Rockers Orbiter who bring a sense of sludgy, down-tuned and fuzzy momentum to the album with a Grungy outlook within the more heavier moments of the record. With a creative outlook pointing towards such bands as Black Sabbath, Ruby The Hatchet, Monolord and Windhand. Orbiter do employ a LOW & SLOW style of music that works superbly well with the eerie and bewitching Grunge/Occult Rock vocals of lead vocalist Carolin. 

Opening track Hollow World is a slow-paced track with Orbiter playing a Post-Doom with slight Gothic twinges that elevates itself into other areas of Psych, Doom, Stoner and Grunge with the lyrics having a bleak sense of realism contained within. The instrumental work moves from 70's Heavy Doom to the more modern down-tuned and amplifier distorted grooves which allows the Sludge Rock/Metal sounds to fully take flight. The level of Sabbathian guitar reverb and Fuzz based aggression allows Orbiter to have a more Progressive sound you initially expect. The tone whilst aggressive and seedy is one that's quite warm-hearted at the same time.

Second track Beneath is full of 90's Classic Grunge attitude with a subtle Alt Rock/Metal creative flow bringing echoes of Nirvana, L7 and Soundgarden but retaining that bass heavy Doom/Stoner Rock drive. The tone of the album is quite Occult/Gloom based but it's that powerful blend of Melodic Hard Rock and Psychedelic Stoner energy along with Carolin's pitch-perfect vocals that really make this song take flight. There's some wicked Hard Rock guitar solos that burst out of the seams that suddenly end. Which is a shame as I was really starting to get into the swing of things with Orbiter starting to show their full creative side on the whole album.

Third track Kolibri is more of an instrumental psychedelic rock journey with minimal vocal chants that sees Oribter reside within the more Post-Rock or Post-Stoner way of life. It's an interesting track to include on the album that showcases a different side to Orbiter which they do explore more fully on the remainder of the album.

Fourth track Hollow World is a Post-Doom/Grunge/Stoner Rock odyssey with Orbiter structuring the song within different themes, tones, textures and melodies. Perhaps the most progressive sounding track on the album which uses a cool sounding SEMI-ACOUSTIC outline to hold both the full-on Stoner Metal grooves and Post-Rock aspects of this song. This is a track that has a beautifully emotionally charged centre at its core but on the other side there's a thrilling and bloody aggressive style of Doom/Stoner Metal that ranks some of the heaviest moments on the album. Orbiter undertake a more "riffier" approach which is where the impressive drumming and guitar solos make a mighty impression. Carolin's bluesy based vocals end the song on a more sombre and hopeful note.

Four tracks in and four tracks to go with Orbiter continue playing similar style of music with more Ambient and Sonic noises fully come into play on tracks such as Raven Bones, Transmissions and Last Call. There's more reliance on Swirling Psychedelics which allows the almost Gothic/Doom influences of Orbiter's music to shine mostly through the romantic lyricism that allows Carolin's vocals yet again to have such a powerful presence to them. The rest of Orbiter do their part by playing an exciting blend of nomadic based Psych Doom/Stoner Metal which has grabbed the attention of famed Italian Powerhouse label Argonauta Records who are releasing this album.

Hollow World has been produced by Hiili Hiilesmaa who has produced bands such as The 69 Eyes, Amorphis, Apocalyptica, HIM and Moonspell. The dude is a legend of the Finnish Hard Rock/Heavy Metal scene and he does a first rate job here. As the album sounds wickedly surreal and thrillingly heavy throughout. 

Overall, Hollow World is an emotionally charged release that sees ORBITER offering a unique and different sounding release at the same time.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotions for the promo.

Hollow World is be available to buy now on CD/Vinyl via Argonauta Records now

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MOOCH - Wherever It Goes (Album Review)

Release Date: October 06th 2023. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Wherever It Goes - Tracklisting

Fee Fi

Facedown

Crimson

Look At Your Hand

The Start

Fade

Wherever It Goes

It’s Getting High

Members

Ben Cornel - Guitars/Vocals/Bass

Julian Lac - Bass/Vocals/Guitar

Alex Segreti - Drums/Vocals/Percussions

Review:

Canadian Hard Rock/Stoner Rock unit MOOCH return with their second full length album Wherever It Goes and if you dig classic rocking tunes that take creative aims from bands such as KYUSS, 1000Mods, Truckfighters and Borracho though MOOCH take a more outlandish approach with influences such as The Doors, The Who and QOTSA. The album strikes the right balance of Classic Rock riff-worship and modern day Psychedelic/Atmospheric sounds. 

With a thirty three minute run time it’s majorly impressive how many different styles of music that MOOCH contain within such a tight time frame. Echoes of buoyant KYUSS/QOTSA runs supreme on the excellent two opening tracks of Fee Fi and Facedown. There is a wicked melodic sound that airs on the more rebellious style of Stoner Rock but MOOCH show some impressive waves of Post-Rock or Post-Stoner grooves that builds upto a sound that even QOTSA would be proud to call their own. 

Third track Crimson ventures into the world of Art-Rock with Prog Rock flourishes and trippy Stoner jams with an essence of the Scorched Californian Desert Rock landscape being given a distorted FUZZ and JAM-BASED makeover. The song is quite slow-paced but is perhaps the standout track on the album with MOOCH adding a level of creative maturity that some established long-time acts never achieve. The vocals are quite surreal and quite DOOM based with shouts of “UNLOCK THE DOOR” making you feel you’ve come down from a bad trip. Crimson successfully explores the hopefully 1960’s Psych Rock scene with the hedonistic style of 1990’s Stoner Rock/Metal. 

Fourth song Look At Your Hand is another track where MOOCH embraces a different musical persona by playing Middle Eastern inspired Psych Rock/Folk/Tantric Pop hooks. There’s still a sense of world-weary Stoner Rock mysticism but it sees MOOCH in their most inventive when thinking outside of the box. Surreal and trippy spaced out sounds allows this song to have an easy-going attitude which is very hard to resist.

Fifth song The Start is a Punk Rock driven Stoner Rock number with free-flowing 1960’s poppy inspired vocals which are marred with that classic sounding Stoner reckless and seedy lifestyle which allows MOOCH to return to their WEEDIAN ways. The added bonus of sublime extended instrumental jams with layers of ridiculous FUZZ allows this to be one of the other standout tracks on the album.

The final three songs of Fade, Wherever It Goes and It’s Getting High is where MOOCH combine elements of The Doors with traces of King Buffalo inspired Psychedelic/Spaced Out jams which perhaps come through strongly mostly on Fade and Wherever It Goes. There’s a little bit of everything within the Desert/Stoner Rock universe that’s being played on this album and don’t MOOCH just run amok with a sense of dangerous bravado that brings some of the heaviest and most dangerous grooves on the album.

Remember, MOOCH’s debut album was recorded and produced by Brant Bjork, Bubba Dupree and Joe Segreti. This time round, the album was produced by MOOCH themselves. They did a stellar job here with production values matching their debut album and even in some cases surpassing them especially on the more heavier psychedelic moments. 

This is the type of album that famed underground labels such as Ripple Music or Heavy Psych Sounds should have released. That’s how great the album is.

Wherever It Goes is a mysterious and mind-expanding album that will take you on quite a surreal journey within the Stoner Rock vortex where the grooves are soulful, beautifully heavy and outlandish from start to finish. 

Words by Steve Howe

Links

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Thanks to MOOCH for the promo.

Wherever It Goes will be available to buy on Digital from all digital suppliers from October 06th 2023.a

Swedish Sludge/Doom Metallers Slôdder Premiere New Song/Video For 46 From Upcoming New Album

“46”, the first single from “A Mind Designed to Destroy Beautiful Things,” gives us a bleak look into a dark future, Slôdder's frenzied empest from their eyes of the struggle that is life. Mental breakdowns, addiction, hopelessness, hate and anger play central thematic roles throughout their upcoming album "A Mind Designed To Destroy Beautiful Things" and are channeled nonstop in the pummeling two minutes and three seconds of “46” by the dejected, deranged screams of enigmatic front man Henrik Lindkvist. From the feral fusion of this band’s ferociously dissonant parts, a bombastic arrangement with the devil himself emerges through scraping riffs and blindingly urgent low end, and we encounter and an exorcism of sorts, but also a seance, and a ritual all at once.

Quoted by the band as “an ode to Wermland, our home turf. The heartland of everything that is Slôdder. We could not exist anywhere else; this is who we are. It is a beautiful and tranquil place, but below the surface.it’s a whole different animal. Its where we find our inspiration, sanity, and strength..” we’re dragged kicking and screaming into a visceral hellscape of tarnished reputations, broken hearts, and wretched
souls without hope of redemption as hard as one might try.

Huge thanks to Outlaws Of The Sun for hosting this bestial creature!

Recorded from start to finish in 19 and a half hours at Sweden’s Studio.Underjord with the great Joona Hassinen, “A Mind Designed to Destroy.Beautiful Things” was produced live and raw, with the intention of capturing the sheer power, energy, and bestial emotion you encounter from Slôdder at a live gig. Continuous noise, no pause, no rest, left intentionally rough and unpolished as life itself can be. Make no mistake, there’s method in the madness and Slôdder’s misanthropic vision meets its gruesome mark with no hesitation. 

The band almost physically erupts with its decidedly dirty sound full of carnal filth and destructive fury, each member bringing searing heat the Slôdder sound.which can only be described as bludgeoning, hardcore sludge,.precariously traversing the world of the living and the dead giving.toxic levels of destitute soul wreckage somewhere between “who gives a fuck” and “fuck around and find out.”

Majestic Mountain Records has been entranced by Slôdder’s wicked ways from the get-go and chose the latter. Appealing to the beast in all of us, we are thrilled to finally present this savage album in an ultra-limited pressing of 100 with all the high-quality wax glory it deserves. Available for pre-sale this Friday the 29th of September, we are pleased to bring you a sneak peak of
what’s coming with the premiere of “46” ahead of the album’s official release on the 24th November.

Slôdder force feeds us a bleak, bellowing beast and single handedly vanquishes all notion of hope for escape, tearing it to bloody pieces whilst leaving us breathless and heaving for more amidst the carnage.

Get “46” in you and play it loud in preparation for the landing of “A Mind Designed To Destroy Beautiful Things” out officially from Majestic Mountain Records on the 24th of November. Pre-sale this Friday. 

For fans of Fistula, Eyehategod, and Weedeater.

Slôdder are:

Henrik Lindqvist
Henrik Östlund
Martin Abraham
Carl Johan Larsgården
Robert Hagel

All artwork and design by Emil Edman

Recorded Produced, Mixed and Mastered at Studio Underjord by Joona Hasseinen

Tracklist:

REMFsA
Mind Designed to Destroy Beautiful Things
Shitwalker
Warpaint
Bumrushed
Still No Friends
46
Reptile

Thanks to Majestic Mountain Records for all of the details. 

Links

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Psych/Acid/Fuzz/Kraut Rockers The Silver Linings Release New Song/Lyric Video For Cosmic Excursions From Upcoming New Album via Spinda Records

After the release of the song "Patient M" earlier in September and announcing last week that they'll be part of the line-up of the next edition of Alhambra Monkey Week in Spain, Andalusian psych band The Silver Linings is putting out on Friday "Cosmic excursions", second single of their upcoming debut album 'Pink Fish', available on October 11 through Spinda Records.

On this occasion, the band offers a face much closer to 60's psychedelia and space rock that will delight fans of bands such as Rolling Stones, Hawkwind, Acid Mess or Andalusian-psych-rock band Atavismo.

Formed in Malaga (Spain) in 2021, The Silver Linings self-released their debut EP ‘TSL’ back in May 2023. Just a few days later they were signed up by the indie record label Spinda Records (Moura, Fin del Mundo, Moundrag…) and went into the studio once again to record additional music to re-launch everything as their first full-length album in October 2023.

Photo by Nacho Gabrielli

The Silver Linings are highly influenced by 20th century sci-fi, Moorcock's literature, Moebius' illustrations, Tarkovsky's cinema, Jodorovsky's work and the poetry of the beat generation; in addition to natural landscapes of Andalusia such as El Torcal in Antequera, the Gorafe desert, the dunes of Bolonia and the Strait of Gibraltar. Due to the type of music they make and the fact that they reside in the south of Spain, they could be part of the new wave of psychedelic rock in Andalusia, along with groups such as Atavismo, Híbrido , Lunavieja, Medicina, Santo Rostro, Mía Turbia, Gu Vo or DMBK; although their sound - closer to acid-psych-space-kraut-rock - makes one think more of bands like Causa Sui, Hawkwind or Can.

The pre-order for the vinyl edition will be available at spindarecords.com and Bandcamp, as well as the digital edition on the main digital streaming services.

+ THE SILVER LININGS: Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook
+ SPINDA RECORDS: Web | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook

Thanks to Spinda Records for all of the details. 

Spook The Beast - Guided By The Second Sun (EP Review)

 

Release Date: September 22nd 2023. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Guided By The Second Sun - Tracklisting

1.Shaman 07:14

2.Cyclone Coming 06:03

3.Merchants Of Grief

Members

Alex Araya - Guitar, vocals

Brian Scheid - Bass

NJ Borreta - Vocals

Keith Sherwin - Guitar

Greg Carvalho - Drums

Review:

Doom/Sludge/Post-Metallers Spook The Beast new EP Guided By The Second Sun sees the band remain within the gloomy post-metallic wastelands first heard on their 2021 debut EP Where All Things Die. This time round the album has a more surreal and clever style of Ambient Metal that opens up Spook The Beast to heavier possibilities with influences ranging from Deftones, ISIS, Neurosis and Mastodon but with perhaps a more aggressive and doomed out way which comes shining through the most on excellent opening track Shaman.

Shaman does have a more cerebral feeling within the intense and crazed vocals that’s made more powerful by the superb lyrics held within the song. The amount of Psychedelic Sludge and Post-Metal beatdowns towards the end of the song is what impressed me the most. As Spook The Beast play a multitude of different styles which always stay on the right side of the “DOES IT DOOM” category. 

Second track Cyclone Coming and sees brief glimpses of electronic and industrial beats being added for a more experimental style of music whilst still retaining a cautious melodic approach. There’s a gloomy Alt-Metal/Electronica driven sound that sees Spook The Beast perhaps moving into Crust Punk or Hardcore Punk mostly on Cyclone Coming which is played at a ferocious breakneck pace. Spook The Beast even finds time to play some wonderful riff-centric sludgy within that track alone. You can even detect traces of Groove and Thrash Metal that shows the listener there’s more about Spook The Beast’s music that you would initially expect.

The final track Merchants Of Grief is a slow-paced track that is mostly driven by Drone based Ambient/Post-Metal sounds. This isn't the heaviest track here but it's perhaps the gloomiest track on the EP. As it's full of intricate beats and sludgy sounds that has a dark sense of coldness and paranoia around them and that's quite hard to do when relying on music alone. Spook The Beast quietly, confidently and triumphantly ride away into the darkness.

Guided By The Second Sun is aggressive, challenging and superbly refreshing and this is the type of EP that Spook The Beast can make themselves more known within the Doom/Sludge/Post-Metal underground scene.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to C Squared Music for the promo.

Links

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Full Album Premiere Of Doom/Stoner Metallers KOTIOMKIN - Le Casalingue – The Satanic Rites of Cobram

Five years after the previous 'Lo Albicocco Al Curaro (Decameron 666)', Kotiomkin are back with a new album, 'Le Casalingue – The Satanic Rites of Cobram', out on September 29th, 2023 via Subsound Records. A wall of distortions and analog synthesizers in eclectic sauce sonorizes the dark erotic-vampire misadventures of the geometra Calboni, a fictional character, appearing in Italian literature and film, created by Paolo Villaggio (Fantozzi).

The Kotiomkin band was born from a great passion for 60s-70s-80s Italian genre cinema, a series of movies characterized by aesthetically innovative approach, in complete opposition to the mainstream and to more or less politicized intellectual cinema of the time. The duo devote himself to the creation of instrumental soundtracks for non-existent movies, with invented plots featured in the liner notes, having as a reference the classic soundtracks of the time but revisiting them with the violence of the most modern stoner, pushing the boundaries of doom.

We're excited to premiere their new album Le Casalingue – The Satanic Rites of Cobram which you can hear below. 

Thanks to Metaversus PR for all of the details. 

Le Casalingue – The Satanic Rites of Cobram is available to buy on DD/Vinyl via Subsound Records from September 29th 2023. 

Links

Facebook | BandCamp

Gévaudan - Umbra (Album Review)

Release Date: October 13th 2023. Record Label: Meuse Music Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Umbra - Tracklisting

Umbra

Members

Adam Pirmohamed: Vocals, piano & synthesizer

Bruce Hamilton: Guitar

Andy Salt: Bass

David Himbury: Drums

Review:

Psychedelic Doom Metallers Gévaudan return with their new album Umbra and it’s a singular track running for forty three minutes in length. Blending almost every corner of the Doom Metal Spectrum such as Heavy, Traditional, Psych, Epic and Blackened Doom with Gévaudan offering a more cautious sound compared to their debut album. Umbra operates at a cool sounding mid-to-slow pace with the band putting in a menacing and muscular performance within the different levels of Doom Metal that are played here.

The vocals are mostly from the True Doom or Traditional Doom scene but Adam shows a wealth of different styles to match the mood or hidden dark depths of Umbra. The instrumental sounds are quite varied with Gévaudan playing both classic heavy metal and modern day Progressive grooves that have elements of Thrash within them.

Gévaudan do feel inspired by bands such as Candlemass, Trouble, Gates Of Slumber, YOB and even Pallbearer on this release. The music is constantly evolving at its own pace and when Gévaudan adapt and change their music to a more Post-Metal or Progressive Metal style then the whole tone and message of the album ultimately changes especially around the thirteen minutes mark where the grooves are stripped back and the band offer a more classic Doom style with Operatic flourishes.

There’s some wonderful Psychedelic guitars slowly working their way through for this part of the album that becomes more forceful as time goes by. Once the song reaches almost the halfway mark then Gévaudan return to a more aggressive and Traditionally dominant style of Doom Metal sound that leads over into sublime moments of intense guitar shredding that works amazingly well with the wonderfully epic lead vocals and the fearless 1980’s Heavy Metal attitude that abounds in major parts of the album.

The later stages of Umbra sees Gévaudan with a more free-flowing Post-Rock attitude especially with Adam’s excellent piano skills holding everything together. The last part of the album features almost every kind of guitar riff worship a METALHEAD could possibly want with dangerous levels of screeching guitars with enough power to cause actual dizzy spells.

Umbra is a dazzling and unique audio experience with Gévaudan creating a true work of art that holds all the creative aces within the Doom Metal scene. The album contains first rate production values that also shines a light to the wonderful story that Gévaudan has written for this album. 

Not many bands have covered almost every different style of the Doom Metal realm but Gévaudan have come pretty close with Umbra. This album is going to blow people’s minds. It’s simply an exquisite album from start to finish.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Gévaudan for the promo.

Umbra will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Meuse Music Records from October 13th 2023.

Links

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Acid Throne - Kingdom's Death (Album Review)

Release Date: November 08th 2023. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Kingdom’s Death: Tracklisting

Death Is Not The End

River (Bare My Bones)

King Slayer

War Torn

Hallowed Ground

Last Will & Testament

Review

Kingdom’s Death is the debut album from UK Doom/Sludge Metallers Acid Throne who have gone under an Extreme Metal makeover since their 2022 debut EP. As the vocals have more ferocity and bite with them employing a “Blackened” approach. The music moves into Black Metal territory and the Psych Stoner Metal grooves heard on their debut EP is influenced mostly by the NOLA scene and perhaps to bands such as EYEHATEGOD and Soilent Green. 

The album also has its fair share of Progressive Metal beats with a dark Post-Metal and Sludge Metal perspective which you’ll hear on the haunting and brutal opening track Death Is Not The End. The vocals are harsh with a gloomy atmosphere allowing the music to grow naturally with Acid Throne revelling in their new found nihilistic outlook on life. The music is a mixture of slow pounding grooves and fast paced sounds with even an “LOW & SLOW” attitude appearing on the later stages of the track.

Second track River (Bare My Bones) opts for THOU style bleakness with a punishing Doom Metal sound that’s cautiously slow with elements of dark Psychedelic vibes and the harsh vocals being more clean based in parts. Moving slowly into Post-Metal territory, Acid Throne wisely takes their time with this song. As there’s a lot to take in with the multitude of different styles the band employ on this song. The song can be quite melodic but with a mean vicious streak to keep the Doom/Sludge Metal atmospherics alive.

Third song King Slayer is a more direct Sludge Metal track with elements of WEEDIAN themes appearing for certain parts of the song. The music does have an evil attitude that matches the killer vocals. Acid Throne adds traces of Groove Metal and even Thrash Metal for one of the standout tracks of the album. This is where Acid Throne starts adding HOOKS and MELODY to the album though the album still remains a harsh, gloomy and exhausting experience but all done in the possible way. 

The second half of the album sees Acid Throne venture into heavier realms with destructive lyrics leading the creative charge with perhaps War Torn and Last Will & Testament being the other standout tracks on the album. There’s more Psychedelic grooves on this part of the album and I’m beginning to hear some of the original Acid Throne magic I encountered on their debut EP. 

Last Will & Testament is where Acid Throne impresses the most with their technical and songwriting abilities. This track feels like it has come from a band who’ve released multiple albums over the years. It’s a masterful style of NOLA based grooves with the Doom Metal landscape allowing the band to create some of the heaviest sounds I’ve heard from the UK Doom/Sludge Underground Scene in quite some time.

Backed by stellar production values. Kingdom’s Death is an album that will launch Acid Throne to the forefront of the UK Doom/Sludge Metal scene and perhaps allow the band to play on some of the best festival slots the scene has to offer.

Acid Throne is going places and Kingdom’s Death is only the start of their new journey. Embrace The Darkness when you get the chance. As this album is an absolute MONSTER….

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Acid Throne for the promo.

Kingdom's Death will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl from November 08th 2023.

Links

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram | Twitter

Morag Tong - Grieve (Album Review)

Release Date: October 06th 2023. Record Label: Majestic Mountain Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Grieve - Tracklisting

1.At First Light 

2.Passages

3.A Stem's Embrace

4.No Sun, No Moon

Members

Adam Asquith - Vocals / Drums

Alex Clarke - Guitar

Lewis Crane - Guitar

James Atha - Bass

Review:

Post-Metal/Sludge/Doom/Stoner Riff Merchants Morag Tong released their debut album Last Knell Of Om way back in May 2018 and it’s an album that made a mighty impression within the Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal community. Mostly down it’s fantastic style of Ambient Post Rock fused with Doom, Sludge and Stoner based sounds that had a thrilling fantastical Psychedelic element to them that allowed the band to create their own unique and haunting style of music.

Well Morag Tong are back with Grieve and it seems the band have undergone a major transformation with their music. As Morag Tong have decided to focus upon playing a more Post-Doom and Progressive sound that you would associate with YOB and Pallbearer. There’s still a certain Stoner element to their music but mostly Grieve sees Morag Tong to play mostly to their Post-Doom and Post-Metal creative strengths with a muscular Psychedelic Sludge attitude drifting into darker areas than you initially realise.

Opening song At First Light has a slight resemblance to what you heard within their last record though that mood changes when the Post-Rock flow transforms into a heavier and free-flowing style of Ambient Post-Metal with a gloomy heaviness that allows the band to play the heaviest sounds of their career. Perhaps best described as PURE CINEMATIC and BONE CRUNCHING AMBIENT DOOM especially when the Harsh vocals appear. There’s a more violent and sinister Post-Stoner element at play which morphs into some epic extended instrumental sounds towards the later stages of the track.

Second song Passages offers a more daring and extreme style of music from Morag Tong which has a destructive and nihilistic sound that draws comparisons to EYEHEATEGOD and early-era Electric Wizard but with the Psychedelic Sludge Metal flavour allowing Morag Tong to play familiar sounds from a distance. The song is quite cold and calculated within the heavier moments but offers moments of brief hopeful respite when the music changes into a more restrained and mellower style of Sludge Rock fused with Ambient Sounds and Post-Stoner scorched desert riffs.

Third song A Stem’s Embrace opens with a simple but beautifully played melody that ranks up there with the best Post-Rock/Post-Metal interludes that would make Pelican and Russian Circles green with envy. Though, the creative and subtle mood of the album slowly changes into destructive styles of Distorted Fuzzed Up Sludge/Stoner Metal. The atmosphere is slowly underplayed with Morag Tong laying down all the building blocks for perhaps the heaviest parts of the album to appear and fully reign supreme. There’s a sense of chaotic harmony to this track which showcases how Morag Tong have matured into better songwriters since their celebrated debut album. The second half of the track features a jaw-dropping moment where a single riff changes the whole complexity and message of the album which acts as the perfect gateway for Morag Tong to unleash more brutal vocals and sludgy nightmarish sounds whilst still retaining a grasp of Stoner Metal reality. 

The final song of No Sun, No Moon is perhaps best described as a multi-part track telling different chapters of the same story. As Morag Tong blends Post-Rock cinematic storytelling techniques where the song is mostly Ambient driven. The next stage of the song changes into heavier areas of Sonic and Doomed Out Experimentation where the music is constantly evolving with sublime Ambient textures once again being quite spectacular without overstating the mark. The song may not seem the heaviest to end the album with but you’ll be surprised at how aggressive and how daring this song actually ventures into. The music is beautifully melodic and showcases some of the best sounds on the entire album.

Grieve lives upto its title by actually you feel remorse and sorrow from the album but it’s one that also offers hope and that’s very hard to pull off. With wonderfully rich observed production values allowing Morag Tong to reach far greater creative heights they achieved with their last album. This is a fact not lost on Swedish Premiere Rock Label - Majestic Mountain Records - who are releasing this album. And they know a thing or two about releasing albums from great bands to the underground scene already. So if it’s good enough for them then take that as another recommendation to add this amazing album to your collection.

Grieve can only be described as WOW or perhaps even better for me personally - As one of the most wonderfully diverse albums you’ll hear this year within the Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal underground scene. 

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Viral Propaganda PR for the promo.

Grieve will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Majestic Mountain Records from October 06th 2023.

Links

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