Release Date: April 24th 2023. Record Label: Various. Formats: DD/Vinyl
Runway - Runway: Tracklisting
1.Slower Egypt 03:59
2.No Witnesses 02:05
3.Hogan's Outback 04:00
4.Attempted Mordor 03:08
5.Banderas 03:42
6.Franchy Cordero 04:19
7.Crosshairs 02:50
8.Mailman 07:26
Members
Toby Bond/ Synth, Viola
Keith Doepker/ Guitar
Jay Loos/ Bass
Charles Lemire/ Drums
Brennan Barclay/ Guitar
Christopher Laramee/ Guitar
Review:
I wondered recently what happened to Canadian Instrumental Doom Rockers Shooting Guns who impressed me constantly with such releases as Born To Deal In Magic 1972 - 1976, Brotherhood Of The Ram, Special Laundromat and their classic soundtrack offering to Wolf Cop which ranks as one of the best and weirdest soundtracks I’ve heard over the last decade or so. The band released another excellent creepy soundtrack offering with Nosferatu Live Score.
I then lost track of the band which does happen unfortunately. The band did release a couple more releases which I’ve just stumbled across. However, the majority of the members have formed a new band called Runway and this is their debut self-titled album. Original drummer Jim Ginther has moved onto pastures new and Runway are backed up by Charles Lemire on drums. However, it’s business as usual under their new name of Runway.
Their debut album is a splendid journey into the realms of Instrumental Doom/Stoner Rock with Runway operating with a more Krautrock and Jazz based cinematic approach. The grooves are plentiful and heavy with flashes of aggressive Jazz Rock scores and fluid Sabbathian based DOOM which moves into areas of high voltage Fuzz Rock.
Runway delivers a more Boogie Rock style with the main creative focus of their music which can be heard on tracks such as: Slower Egypt, No Witnesses and Hogan’s Outback. The album does have a Soundtrack vibe around it that mostly appears within the song titles and how the tracks moves effortlessly onto the next stage of the album.
There’s a stripped back Acid Rock and Blues Rock groove which soon build upto a loud WALL of Fuzzy aggression which was a staple of the Shooting Guns sound. Runway drifts into the Post-Rock consciousness on the more mellow parts of the album but this is mostly a collection of classic Doom/Stoner based grooves with Krautrock experimentation with AMPLIFIER FEEDBACK appearing on various stages of the album.
There’s subtle use of Ambient and Guitar Reverb which drives up the Psychedelic factor to
exciting levels on tracks such as Attempted Mordor, Banderas and the epic final song Mailman. Runway brings a fresh sounding and creative perspective within the Instrumental Rock/Metal scene which they did constantly under their previous incarnation.
Runway’s self-titled debut release is an absolute joy to experience and even when the album opts for a more gloomier and complex sound though everything sounds as it should with Runway delivering music with real emotion and a real sense of purpose. However, most importantly this is a brilliantly fun and addictive record to listen to from start to finish.
Words by Steve Howe
You can buy Runway S/T via the links below:
We, Here & Now Recordings - Vinyl
Links:
