MEGATHERIUM - GOD (Album Review)

Release date: April 10^th 2020. Label: Argonauta Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

GOD – Tracklisting

1.(generate) 02:51

2.The One 06:32

3.The Holy 06:08

4.The Truth 08:19

5.(organize) 01:28

6.The Eye 10:46

7.(destroy) 02:26

8.The Strength 09:43

Members

Manuele ‘Manu’ † vocals, fx

Fabio ‘Zekimmortal’ † bass, vocals

Stefano ‘Torre’ † drums

Alberto ‘Tode’ † guitar

Review

Italian Doom/Stoner Metallers – Megatherium – return with their new album GOD and it’s a bold statement to call your album that but the band aren’t afraid to push new boundaries and create new sounds on this release compared to their debut album. This hasn’t got the highly addictive grooves of their debut album Superbeast. As the band have opted for a darker and bleaker style of music.

This album sees Megatherium play a darker blend of Progressive Doom/Sludge Metal with elements of Psychedelic Grooves adding a more unsettled tone with opening song – (generate) – being an Ambient/Drone based song with voices appearing in the background with the Doom based elements slowly bringing the song to a slow finish.

Second song – The One – is a song that reminds me of their debut album but the bleaker sounds appear early and the band just carry on with their more Post-Apocalyptic style of music with superb vocals by Manuele. The added Psychedelic Effects offers a more Post-Metal vision to the feel and flow of the album with the Progressive Guitars being the main driving force of the song. The production is quite raw and abstract but allows Megatherium to build upon their sound for maximum volume levels.

Third song – The Holy – is another Post-Apocalyptic based song with a heavy stylized version of Doom/Stoner Metal being played and it has quite a “Grunge” feel to it as well. The song takes time to get going and only starts to come alive when Manuele vocals appear then everything makes sense and the band create one of the strongest songs on the entire album.

Despite the dark poetic lyrics and ideas running throughout this album, Megatherium manage to play some epic sounding riffs on this album with a twinge of Classic Hard Rock that you wouldn’t really expect. So it’s good to see the band trying something different on this album whilst remaining true to their roots.

The band draw influences from bands such as ISIS (The Band), Neurosis and UFOMAMMUT on certain parts of the album.

Other standout songs to check out are: The Truth, The Eye and The Strength. As that’s where the bands reach their creative peak with these songs and offer a more daring and perhaps even heavier experience with the different levels of Progressive sounds within the Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal spectrum.

I’m still torn deciding which album do I prefer the most – Superbeast or GOD. Both albums are vastly different to each other though it’s going to be quite exciting personally for myself deciding in the future. As I get to spend more time with this wonderfully dark, daring and exciting album.

Overall, GOD may not be an easy album to listen to but it’s got a SHIT-TON of Heavy Riffs to keep fans of the genre happy for a long time to come….

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Mona at All Noir PR for the promo. GOD is available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Argonauta Records now.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp

Megatherium - Superbeast (Album Review)

Release date: November 04^th 2016. Label: Self Released. Format: CD/DD

SUPERBEAST – Tracklisting

1.Prayer For The Ox 01:17

2.Refuse To Shine 05:06

3.Fly High 05:18

4.Twiceman 13:23

5.Ghost Of The Ocean 04:45

6.Cleveland (Is Far From Here) 03:39

7.The Wolf And The Deer 03:11

8.Grey Line 09:14

9.Betrayers Everywhere 06:17

10.Slow Down 04:35

11.Retrosky 08:02

Band Members:

Manuele - vocals, fx

Davide - guitar

Fabio - bass, vocals

Stefano - drums

Review:

Prepare for the new album by Megatherium. Superbeast is perhaps one of the most apt names for an album this year as this album contains an avalanche of heavy noises and far-out riffs. From the spaced out psych sounds of opening track – Prayer For The Ox, you’re instantly drawn into Megatherium’s world. The album lasts for an epic sixty minutes or so.

Second track – Refuse To Shine – shows you the Megatherium as their music takes a more distorted and heavier turn. The vocals are clean based but firmly rooted in doom/gloom atmospherics with the bass-pounding riffs creating an exciting and ferocious sound. The tone of the album is built upon sound experimentation as the band navigates themselves through a wide range of different styles and noises.

Third track – Fly High – sees the band opt for a more lo-fi grungier sound with the vocals reminding me of the vocals of the legendary era. The lyrics have an overall bleak context to them and it only enhances the overall feel and attitude of the entire album.

Fourth track – Twiceman – is the standout song on the album. Almost fourteen minutes of heavy progressive doomier sounds matched against a vast psychedelic grungier backdrop. It’s a deliberately slow paced song that allows you to immerse yourself not only with the song but with the overall gloomy vibe of the entire album. The instrumental work is what holds your attention as the band creates different layers of sound.

The album contains seven more psychedelic offerings but the four tracks give you a good impression on what to expect for the remainder of the album. Top-notch heavy psych grooves that you would expect to hear from the Italian Doom/Stoner Metal scene.

Other standout tracks to check out are: Ghost Of The Ocean, The Wolf And The Deer, Slow Down and the majestic closing track – Retrosky. Superbeast has a vast different styles of music contained throughout the whole album. Fans of Ufomammut, Conan, Slomatics and even A Perfect Circle will find much to enjoy on Superbeast.

Superbeast has become one of my favourite debut albums I’ve listened to this year. It’s a wonderful sounding and thrilling album that will hopefully reward Megatherium with a much bigger fan base. A simply stunning album.

Words by Steve Howe

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp