"Empirical Space Doom from Barcelona" is the legend gracing Boveda del Sol's Bandcamp page but while we agree with the words "empirical" and "space" we have to take issue with the word "doom", this is not to say that doom does not play a huge part in what this Spanish outfit bring to the table its just that there is so much more than just doom going on within their sound. There are elements to be found on "Collective Unconsciousness" that border on blackened and proggish and others that lean towards ambient and experimental but then we guess labelling yourself an "empirical experimental ambient blackened prog space doom band" is going a bit far.
Saturday 18 May 2024
BOVEDA DEL SOL ~ COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUSNESS .... review
"Empirical Space Doom from Barcelona" is the legend gracing Boveda del Sol's Bandcamp page but while we agree with the words "empirical" and "space" we have to take issue with the word "doom", this is not to say that doom does not play a huge part in what this Spanish outfit bring to the table its just that there is so much more than just doom going on within their sound. There are elements to be found on "Collective Unconsciousness" that border on blackened and proggish and others that lean towards ambient and experimental but then we guess labelling yourself an "empirical experimental ambient blackened prog space doom band" is going a bit far.
Friday 17 May 2024
COSMOTHER ~ BIG CHILL .... review
KAMENIAK ~ BLACK SKY SUMMER ....review
Friday 10 May 2024
SUNNATA - CHASING SHADOWS ..... review
If the deeply atmospheric opening number "Chimera" does not make you feel like you have stumbled into a hidden temple where some deeply religious ritual is being acted out then you really need to get your chakras realigned, its initial mantra like chants and eastern flavoured motifs, slowly evolving into a dervish like whirl of heaviness evokes images in the minds eye not too dissimilar to those portrayed in the temple scenes of the movie "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom". Alt-metal/grunge has always been an element Sunnata have had no problem incorporating into their music and for next song "Torn" Sunnata bring that element of their sound to the fore, the band utilising not only the genres quiet/loud/quiet dynamics, slurred guitar tones and off-kilter vocal harmonies but also that grainy slightly murky vibe that has long been associated with the genre, albeit here possessing a more doomic and dank undercurrent. In Sunnata's world atmosphere is king and the king is in full attendance for the beautiful but brief "At Dusk (Interlude)" a delicious mood piece built around shimmering guitar arpeggios and sparse but effective bass. The following two songs "Wishbone" and "Saviours Raft" are at totally different ends of the heavy spectrum with the former a shamanic flavoured doomic romp and the latter an off-centred blend of textured post-metal, caustic heavy sludge and grungy doom. Next is "Adrift (Reprise)" a very short but highly enjoyable interlude piece with an Alice In Chains like flavour which is quickly followed by "Tide" a song that could easily be considered a sister piece to opening number "Chimera" if it were not for its more wordy lyrical content, its use of percussion to create a sound not unlike that of dripping water is a stroke of genius. A mix of chiming and surf like guitar tones twinned with a groove that is partly tribal and partly indie/gothic gives next track "Hungry" a weirdly post-punk(ish) feel especially when combined with the semi-goth flavoured vocals that decorate it. "Through the Abyss (Interlude)", another heavily atmospheric mood piece, gives us just enough time to catch our breaths before Sunnata snatch them away again with the excellent "The Sleeper" a song that shifts from sinister and menacing to manic and raging in a very short space of time, the middle section connecting these emotions an unsettling and mind-frying wall of droning guitar textures. Final track "Like cogs in a wheel, we're trapped between waves of distorted time" sees Sunnata closing out with an instrumental that feels like an extension of all the ideas the band have previously visited on the albums various interludes, a throbbing, sometimes shimmering, piece that comes over like a mix of early The Cure goth and British trip-hop, wonderfully weird and strangely hypnotic.
Thursday 9 May 2024
SUN MOON HOLY CULT ~ SUN MOON HOLY CULT .... review
Things start of impressively heavy with "I Cut Your Throat" its opening salvo of crunching riffage, cellar level bass and thundering drums suggesting a more proto-dynamic until that is the vocals come in and things drop down into a more sedate pace with the vocalist telling us in mournful accented tones that she would like to "make a wish and cut your throat". The second half of the song sees the band flexing their muscles on a deliciously scuzzed out proto-doom jam that sees keyboards and guitars vying for dominance over a backdrop of pummelling percussion and growling bass. "Savoordoom" takes the doomic acidity of the previous songs second half and raises it up a notch or three this time accompanied by a monotonic mantra like vocal that we can only assume is sang in the bands native tongue, the band taking things to an even loftier level of acidic doomic dankness after those vocals subside. Third song "Mystic River" has a more traditional rock feel to it, still residing very much in the doom canon but with more melodic vocals and a tight four to the floor feel, a feel enhanced by some nice guitar hooks and bluesy solos. Sun Moon Holy Cult bring things to a close with "Out of the Dark" a song that sees the band putting all their dooms in one basket, toying with aspects of proto, stoner and traditional doom while still retaining that acid/scuzz element that has informed all the albums previous songs up until this point and even getting a little funky in places.