Simon Magus hail from Toledo,OH and consists of five dudes,Wes Allen - Vocals, Micah Shimborske - Guitar, Schmid - Guitar, Nick Shallcross - Guitar & Bass and Mark Reynolds - Drums, from various bands and backgrounds with a united love of Trouble, Saint Vitus and Black Sabbath. A while ago the band took these influences into the studio, sprinkled them with a little 90's grunge and created what is in my opinion the best trad doom album released this year,,,,so far.
Exploding from your speakers like a grenade "She Wept" opens the album, its stuttering twin guitar riff and thunderous bass and drums assaulting the senses, leaving you reeling, then just when you think things can't get any better than this in comes Wes Allen with a vocal performance that will send shivers down your spine. Allen's voice, a unique blend of bluesy holler and throaty stoner grit, roars out the lyrics like a man possessed while beneath him the rest of the band drive the song with a force and power that defies belief.
The pattern continues throughout the rest of the album, powerful intense musicianship and vocal pyrotechnics combined with strong thoughtful song writing. Lyrics such as "calling out to a god who doesn’t answer by name, you incur the wrath of man with only yourself to blame" (A Dying King) and " and i took no comfort in the kindness of my friends, these walls i raised were all my own, i’ve been disfigured by disgrace unerased"(Eulogy For The Elephant Man) show that Simon Magus are a band who require you to think as well as listen.
Simon Magus have remained coy on whether this project is a one -off deal or an ongoing concern, hinting ,via their Facebook page, that there may be more to come but not committing themselves either way. Whatever the band decide to do in the future is really their concern but it would be a shame if this was the last we heard from these guys as music this good NEEDS to be heard
A little Revelation in there too. Great Doom album!
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