Release Date: November 04th 2024. Record Label: Glory Or Death Records. Format: DD/Vinyl
Bow Down To No One - Track Listing:
1.1313 04:20
2.Crack the Whip 03:42
3.Slo Failure 05:49
4.Kill Hate Love 04:04
5.Black Hymn 04:33
6.Below the Water 06:23
7.Martyr of the Son 04:48
8.Passenger 05:07
9.Tempest 05:52
10.Devil Inside You 04:41
Members
Jim McCloskey – Guitars
Greg Noriega – Bass
Chris Lowbridge – Drums
Jason Busiek – Vocals
Review
Bow To No One is the new album from Doom/Stoner Metallers Sea Of Snakes who also operate with an old school Alt Metal/Grunge creative philosophy within their music. As the album draws upon bands such as Black Sabbath, Alice In Chains and Soundgarden. With an aggressive and seedy style of AMPLIFIER FUZZ slowly creeping into the background on the excellent opening track 1313. The sound is built upon a highly atmospheric style of contemporary 1990’s Hard Rock and Heavy Metal with a sublime distorted Proto-Doom sound starting to appear.
The album allows Sea Of Snakes to forge their own unflinching style of Street Level based Doom/Stoner Metal where GRUNGE is just one of the best tools the band have at their disposal at creating heavy slabs of pure seediness throughout the album especially on tracks such as Crack The Whip, Slo Failure and Kill Hate Love. Sea Of Snakes have a deft touch at playing intense grunge based melodies with a subtle Alt Rock flavour appearing within the lyrics. However, the whole sound is filtered through a level of distorted sludgy grooves and amplified textures that bring a sense of paranoia to the album that I didn’t expect to hear.
Production values are superbly realized with a sense of dirt and grime coming through their music which allows Sea Of Snakes to become more closely aligned to the Grunge scene that you don’t fully expect. However, it’s the wicked and down-tuned sludgy guitars that gives Sea Of Snakes another level of heaviness to play with as they bring a sinister PSYCHEDELIC movement to the album which becomes one of the standout parts of the entire album.
The standout tracks on the album are: Slo Failure, Kill Hate Love, Below The Water, Passenger and Tempest. These are the moments where Sea Of Snakes start paying homage to bands such as Soundgarden and Alice In Chains more and more. You can also hear other influences such as Faith No More, The Melvins and High On Fire heard on the record which Sea Of Snakes use to their own advantage by creating highly anthemic and original music of their own.
Bow To No One is a superbly entertaining record that perfectly captures the seedier side of the Alt Metal/Grunge hybrid style of Doom/Stoner Metal that Sea Of Snakes are absolute masters at. Give this record a spin and you’ll be brilliantly surprised at the EPIC grooves that Sea Of Snakes bring to the party. I’m hoping Sea Of Snakes gain a loyal and dedicated following from the underground scene as they truly deserve every success with this album.
Excellent and Highly Recommended.
Words by Steve Howe
Bow To No One Is available to buy now on DD/Vinyl via Glory Or Death Records.
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