Release Date: April 15th 2026. Record Label: Call And Response Records. Formats: CD/DD.
Love - Tracklisting
1.Love 02:59
2.Chaotic Heaven 02:08
3.Nebula 03:53
4.Havoc 03:54
5.Crush 04:31
6.Kill U 02:59
7.Elegy 12:29
8.Zero 03:32
9.Melt 07:10
Members
Ryotaro - Vocals, Guitars, Noise
Ryo7 - Drums
Tacchi - Vocals on “Chaotic Heaven” and “Zero”
Shoko - Vocals on “Crush” and “Elegy”
Review
Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metallers Looprider return with their latest album LOVE and it’s quite a subversive title for a record such as this. As this album has quite a different and aggressive sound to their acclaimed 2023 album Metamorphose. The uplifting and highly melodic structures that were played throughout that record have been replaced by a harsh, moody and violent down-tuned energy. Along the way, member Haruka left the band and was replaced by Tacchi on guitars and vocals. This version of LOOPRIDER has created their heaviest and sludgiest record yet without sacrificing their whole creative identity.
Looprider still blends Doom, Sludge, Stoner, Noise, Punk, Psych and Fuzz soundscapes throughout LOVE but with a truly devastating cinematic score being played at the very start. There’s a more urgent delivery to their music that once again reminds me of BORIS and THE MELVINS in equal amounts but this is still Looprider’s show. They add distorted movements of Thrash, Drone and even Post-Punk surroundings which are played for the most part at a sublime fast pace. This is a totally different band compared to Metamorphose as within that record they always managed to find the time to play “uplifting” areas of Ambient, Post-Rock and Post-Stoner tracks. On LOVE, the listener is thrusted upon a brutal wasteland of sharp distorted grooves set against an Alt Metal backdrop of dangerous Droned Out Fuzz structures.
The album never lets up with its breakneck delivery on tracks such as: Love, Chaotic Heaven, Nebula and Havoc superbly setting up the scene with the band exploring some razor sharp vocals and intense lyrics. LOVE feels like a huge WALL of total destruction is being built from beginning to end as multiple levels of different sounding areas of FEEDBACK, DRONE, AMPLIFIER DISTORTION and manic PROGRESSIVE energy holding everything together.
There are some intricate amounts of Psychedelic movements that start to appear on the later stages of LOVE with tracks Crush, Kill U, Elegy and Melt. It’s great to see Looprider embrace some of their familiar sounds they’ve created on previous releases but still keeping in line with their new found Sludge Metal aggression. Taachi’s vocals are exquisite when they do appear. There’s also guest vocals from Shoko from Shoegaze collective COLLAPSE on the excellent tracks of Crush and Elegy.
The two standout tracks are Elegy and Melt with these being the two longest tracks on the album. You can expect subdued Post-Rock moments before Looprider unleashes screeching and glitchy guitars that provide a haunting and unsettling aspect into the mix. Though, it’s the slow-paced surroundings that offer the most rewarding aspect for listeners to fully lose themselves in.
LOVE is an epic and masterful style of modern day of Heavy Rock music with Looprider once again proving why they’re one of the best bands worth knowing about from the Japanese Sludge/Stoner Metal scene. They never release the same record twice and LOVE only proves that point. This is a record with real human insight that makes LOVE such an unmissable and brilliantly powerful record in its own right.
Words by Steve Howe
LOVE is available to buy now on CD/DD via Call And Response Records.
Links
Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram
