PRIMA MATERIA ~ STONE BY STONE .... review

 

Stephany Varga (bass/vocals); Matt Silver (drums) and Esther Ann Gove (guitar/vocals) are the thirds that make up the whole of a trio calling themselves Prima Materia, a band from Oakland, California who boast a sound they describe as "esoteric doom".  Now "esoteric" often refers to something limited to the knowledge of a small group of people, so in this case we hope Prima Materia's music does not stay "esoteric" for too long, but "esoteric" can also mean "of special interest" and if, like Desert Psychlist,  you often find yourself captivated by doom that is a little left of the norm then the bands debut release "Stone By Stone" will be of extra special interest. 

"Stone By Stone" opens its account with "Blame" a song that comes at you in pulses of throbbing doom riffage and rolling drum patterns routinely interrupted by staccato type vocal bursts and including a passage of liquid like ambience at its centre, the songs final moments coming in a whirlwind of  searing lead guitar work before things are brought to a close with a gradually decreasing wave of droning effects and white noise. Next up is "Silence" a song where we find Prima Materia initially dipping their toes into more tranquil ethereal waters with folk-like vocal harmonies floating majestically over lilting bass motifs, shimmering percussion and gently swept arpeggios. These guys are no trippy dippy psychonauts however and its not long before those arpeggios are traded in for crunching power chords , those drums become a thunderous barrage and those bass motifs start to find their inner growl, the band only returning to the ethereality of the songs opening bars once they've blown your speakers to smithereens. The albums midway position is marked with the appropriately named "Interlude" an atmospheric if rather brief instrumental, its moody demeanour the perfect preparation for the towering majesty Prima Materia unleash upon us with the darkly beautiful title track "Stone By Stone". Part an aching lament and part a doomic riff fest "Stone By Stone" draws it listeners in with dark maudlin vocal melodies delivered over backdrops of languid doom and prog before then deciding to blow minds and socks off with a tsunami of thrumming heaviness decorated in vocal tones that at this juncture are not so much harsh as forceful. The forcefulness of tone gracing the closing stages of the previous song is resurrected again for next song "Ruinbound" but only in the songs chorus, which is otherwise bookended by lilting and fey crooning, however the forcefulness of the music here is unrelenting, a throbbing dank dark  onslaught of doomic gnarliness that for Desert Psychlist puts this tune up there as a contender for one of the albums finest moments. Lastly we come to "Lie", vocals here are a mix of lead voice and shared harmonies but its the music here that is the main focus, Prima Materia blending brutality with texture, colour and complexity to create a heavy but slightly off-kilter feel, the band using the brutal part of that equation to bring not only this song to a satisfying conclusion but also the album. 

  A lot of thought has gone into the musical structures and arrangements on "Stone By Stone", these are not just songs put together around a riff, there are elements of light and shade aplenty to be found here as well as a desire to take chances and experiment. This is Prima Materia's debut release so of course there are places where they do not quite pull off what they are were aiming for but for every one wayward arrow on "Stone By Stone" there are ten hitting their targets, and hitting them true.

Check 'em out .....       

© 2025 Frazer Jones