Release Date: August 29th 2025. Record Label: Paper Cut Recordings. Formats: CD/DD
Death Of Don Valley - Tracklisting
01 Burn For Murder - 2:03
02 Eye Witness - 2:51
03 Burden - 3:08
04 Guiding Hand - 6:18
05 Frozen Limbs - 5:15
06 Gearth - 2:29
07 Astray - 4:57
08 Bliss - 8:59
09 Golden - 7:07
Members
Joe Zandwyk: Drums, Vocals, Samples
Sebastian Hogg: Organ, Piano, Synth, Samples
Andrew Blackborow: Guitar, Vocals
Review
Canadian Experimental Doom/Stoner Metallers Ivy Garden sophomore album Death Of Don Valley leans heavily into the Math Rock/Post-Hardcore style of creative movement compared to their 2024 debut album Goon. There are pockets of Doom, Sludge, Stoner, Noise and Punk Rock aggression which they made themselves known on that record here but the band have a fearless creative attitude which sees the band playing music influenced by the likes of BOTCH, CAVE IN and EYEHATEGOD.
Death Of Don Valley is a darker, bleak and less hopeful record than Goon with Ivy Gardens growing into a new style of MISERABLE based Doom/Stoner Metal with intense pockets of Weirdo Gonzo Rock forming with a high amount of intense grooves and instrumental solos appearing. The added use of Organ, Piano and Synths is another peculiar touch with the record having a stunning approach into Sixties and Seventies Psych Rock that is built within the opening tracks of Burn For Murder, Eye Witness and Burden.
The sludgy atmospherics sees Ivy Garden strip further away from the safety cushion of modern day Stoner Rock they achieved with Goon that’s been replaced by a highly experimental Sludge Rock/Metal style with a stripped back Doom & Gloom atmosphere which takes a “SLEDGEHAMMER” approach with the vocals and different vocal styles that dominate the musical landscape.
There is a mid-noughties Progressive Sludge Metal sound that develops within the standout fourth track of Guiding Hand that does have elements of Mastodon, Pink Floyd, Rush and The Doors at the best of times. Freakishly heavy and clever as hell with Ivy Garden overlapping into different areas of Classic Hard Rock and Heavy Metal with a twisted sense of morality fully brewing within this track and the rest of the album.
There are still moments of straight up Stoner Rock/Metal sounding grooves but it’s mostly delivered with Ivy Garden’s new found vicious creative appetite that becomes even more experimental whilst still keeping a unique style of melodic and riff-fuelled heaviness on tracks such as Frozen Limbs, Gearth, Bliss and Golden. Though, this record may take a few listens to fully understand what Ivy Garden achieved with Death Of Don Valley.
Throw in a lot of glitchy soundclips, ambient noises and psychedelic rhythms that are wonderfully refreshing and quite disturbing to hear at times. The sudden appearance of Grind/Electronic beats that fans of GENGHIS TRON will no doubt richly appreciate, is a welcome left-field turn which feels like GOON and DEATH OF DON VALLEY have been released by two entirely different bands. The end result is LIGHT & DAY with Death Of Don Valley impressing the most with Ivy Garden demonstrating a new found musical maturity and intelligence that wasn’t shown in Goon. I love GOON as it’s a fantastic Stoner Rock/Metal record. This is a different experience altogether.
The end result is that Death Of Don Valley is a wonderfully eccentric, off-beat and demented slice of Sludge/Stoner Metal that demands your full and undivided attention.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Asher Media PR for the details.
Death Of Don Valley is available to buy now on CD/DD via Paper Cut Recordings.
Links
