Hela - Broken Cross

MORE BLOOD FOR YOUR HAPPINESS

Spain probably has one of the most under rated metal scenes of all times. Though its early grind and thrash scenes have legendary status in metal circles and the quality of modern death metal is laudatory, exports of other genres from this country have for some reason never garnered much attention. It’s one of those stories when failure of recognition was not because of dearth of quality or exiguousness of originality but quite probably lack of support or distribution channels which contributed to the ignorance towards this country’s metal exports. Like modern day Germany and Sweden, Spain too has developed a thriving, dynamic and competent stoner scene because of the paramount importance given towards quality and ingenuity, traits that are oft missing in the stagnant and redundant metal scene today, and thus more often than not getting efficacious results. From the country which has produced bands like Arenna, Horn of the Rhino and Great Coven which have appealed to our senses comes the new band on the block, Hela.

Formed after splitting up of the band ‘The Sand Collector’, Hela contains members of the aforesaid band and another band Nahrayan, which concocted a unique sound by mixing doom, death and sludge metal. They released their debut album entitled ‘Broken Cross’ earlier this year. Seeing that the band’s repertoire consisted of such musicians who showed a proclivity towards innovation rather than blindly setting on paths paved by the grandfathers of the genres it was no surprise to me that Hela have a sound that they can call their own. Hela’s music can be described as an assimilation of a sound that was created by Subrosa on their debut album, the quixotic yet riff driven take on the psychedelic infused meanderings of Ufomammut, riddled with melodic sections and a penchant for female fronted occult themed doom bands and have the sound which Hela can call their own.

In Norse mythology Hela was the daughter of Loki the Trickster, who was half rotted, and though very compassionate and caring also exuded an aura of dreariness and anxiousness and this is the reason why this collective foursome work under this name. The music of Hela though of onerous girth never really batters your eardrums enough so as to provide a tempestuous listening experience though it is extremely capable of doing so. The artwork is very reflective of this unique trait as well. The artwork which shows a mortified and depraved figure is drawn in cool colours, which reiterates my earlier point, that though this band is very capable of doing serious damage, they choose not to by taking a laid back approach and instead of choosing to batter the listeners into pulp with their inordinately corpulent riffs choose to create a wall of sound that is more benevolent than malevolent.

Extremely guitar driven, these six songs which last 46 minutes are testament of the originality of the band who have chosen to create their own path instead of following generally accepted trends. The song structures are masterfully created as well. The band keeps thing fresh by constantly reinventing itself and instead of sticking to a preconceived template introduce a lot of variation. Though there are extremely riff driven sections there are also sections which transfer the listener right to the psychedelia influenced expanses of the unknown. If there is catchy verse there is the long instrumental section as well. What is worth mentioning here is the prodigious amount of a variation present here not only on each track but on the album as a whole. While tracks like ‘Horns Of God’ or ‘Slave Of The Witch’ are all about the copious riffs wherein the drums bash forth the colossal riffs which are well bolstered by the bass which seems to strung by string strong and thick enough to hold up bridges, there is also ‘The Wicked King’ which produces memorable choruses and tracks like ‘March Of the Minotaurs’ and ‘Black Eagle’ which gyrate more towards the firmly driven roots of traditional stoner metal only for the band to subjugate you to music therapy with the album closer ‘Flesh Ceremony’.

Though there exists such amount of dissimilitude everything seems to flow which crystal clear clarity and fluidity and seems to be part of a greater picture. Be it the operatic vocals of extremely powerful lead singer Isabel Sierras whose voice slightly reminds me of Alunah lead singer Sophie Day, or the furious drum fills of Miguel who knows when to up the tempo so as create maximum impact, or the intertwining goodness the bass and guitar played by Julian and Tano respectively, everything seems a perfect fit and ultimately ends up creating a sound and an experience that Hela can claim their own. This album here is the dark horse of the best stoner album of the year, and with half the year already gone remains my favourite in this category. If you want stoner music with is approachable, does not quickly fall into a boring self parody and different you need not look further. Hela has arrived.

SCORE - 85/100

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High Priest Of Saturn - High Priest Of Saturn

RELAXING TRIPS INTO THE UNKNOWN

To be acutely blunt and straightforward, in the today’s day, if there is one genre that is extremely overstuffed and wrought with unoriginality, it is stoner metal, and more specifically stoner/doom. Bands with their recycled Sabbathian riffs and Electric Wizard type drawn out song structures have made this a genre of who can come up with the best tribute to the aforesaid bands rather than delving into something new or expanding the boundaries of the genre and its sound in any way and have in the process made the regular stoner sound an extremely monotonous one where each bands sound like the next. Amidst this platitudinous and trivial contention of who can sound the heaviest or who can come up with the catchiest chorus, arises a power trio by the name of High Priest Of Saturn all the way from Norway. One instantaneously clubs black metal with the country of Norway, but they have quite a budding doom metal scene as well with bands like Sahg and Black Lodge having gained international recognition, and more recently Devil with its retro take on doom metal has gained them quite a few admirers.

Some of you may be aware of the band, consisting of Merethe Heggset who is the driving force of the band taking on the dual duties of vocalist and bassist, Andreas Hagen handling the drums and one half of the axework with Martin Sivertsen taking care of the other half and guest musician Ole Kristian Malmedal running has ethereal fingers over the organ. The band which released its self titled debut demo back in 2011, has come up with their first album, also self titled in early 2013. The new albums along with minor touches on the two tracks present on the demo, contains two new songs as well, which together stretch a tinge more than forty minutes. Though the average track length is rather high the inoffensive attitude and warm recording make for a very relaxing, almost ethereal experience.

While most bands fight trivial contests of who can be the loudest or who an immerse themselves the most in fuzz, High Priest Of Saturn have come up with a very laid back style of heavy stoner psychedelic metal. The music that the band play can be described as a portal between the past and the present with one foot firmly rooted in the 60’s psychedelia and 70’s Sabbath, with the other foot planted in the modern day stoner territories with its love for being drenched in fuzz, and still not being derivative in the least. Think Windhand minus the excessive fuzz molded with Spacefog without the aggression wrought together to create a swirling, mixing out of body experience into the atramentous passages only illuminated by torches lit by trips into the psychedelia infused expanses into the unknown. After you wrap your head around this imagine a continuous undercurrent of the organ throughout the release, taking the backstage instead of being the center of attention like in bands like Stonehenge and you have the primordial sound of a power trio collectively known as High Priest Of Saturn.

The band focuses not on a particular riff but instead focus on creating an experience where the focus of the listener is not drawn to any particular facet but instead to the natural progression of each track with its twists and turns. Though mostly trudging along with a slow speed it in an album where one moment you are in the midst of sleepy jam only to be broken by the copious bass of Merethe, and though there are jams dotted throughout the release the band does show a proclivity towards more structured songs. Though this release is mostly instrumental, enveloped in a smoke with mystical purging qualities, High Priest of Saturn is a part of the new wave of doom bands where the leading member is a female and to call her voice angelic or like that of a siren would be gross understatement. It is her performance on the bass as well on the mic that bind the band together which such malleability so as to create an extremely fluid release and it is her flexibility during the vocals that thrust the band to higher grounds of greatness. At times crooning, at times soft spoken, almost ethereal and at times singing at a powerful lower register, she has come up with a performance that has set the bar very high for both current as well as future ladies of doom. It’s not all about Merethe. Though she does add an air of mystery around the band and is the bands most distinguishing feature, it also the axework of Andreas and Martin who without following of trends have set out to create a path of their own with their dreamy guitars and lengthy solos that transport the listener into a soothingly whimsical world of musical therapy. I often wonder why bands that play heavy psychedelic rock never use the influences laid down by the grandmasters of the genre, Pink Floyd, but here the band put that question to rest and play solos reminiscent of the great band including one on the track ‘Crawling King Snake’ which sound like something Floyd would have played during their ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ days.

All this held together by the organ played by the magic fingers of session member Kristian has by alchemy created this unique experience and has had got this band functioning in a territory where not many seemed to have dared to explore. This is as original, and as different as different can get in the modern day of stoner. It is a genuine, frank, straight forward and heartfelt release without the pretentiousness and without the over reliance of paths already well set and is an impeccable debut that is an absolute must have for all fans of the genre.

SCORE - 77/100 

Teaser of the album here

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Boudain - Boudain

MISS ACID BATH ?

My love for doom metal over the years has compounded in leaps and bounds. As I delved deeper and deeper into the murky mystery filled underground of the genre it was only so long that you came across Doommatia, and it seemed as if I had hit the jackpot. A highly active site, the amount of information it had, backed by real time updates and writers, who with unbridled passion brought forth the latest of the underground happenings and unholy spawns, was the biggest catalyst to expand the boundaries of the genre. I always wished to contribute something to the doom metal underground, and when I was given an opportunity to join the writing crew here, it was a dream come true.

The first band I was asked to review by Ed was the self titled EP released by a band that goes by the name of ‘Boudain’ which is a four piece out of Monroe, Louisiana. I sadly cannot give you much more information about the band, since nothing more is available on their facebook or bandcamp page.  The music that ‘Boudain’ plays encompasses the inordinately copious riffs of early ‘Acid Bath’, the sense of groove of stoner bands like ‘Spiritual Beggars’ and an aura that reeks of the all out surge of extremely well channeled grit which was the core aesthetic characteristic of a certain ‘Kyuss’ showing the greatest proclivity towards the classic ‘When the Kite String Pops’ by ‘Acid Bath’ as can be witnessed in the oppressively down-tuned guitars as well as the song structures.  As both the band name and artwork encapsulate within itself the thick meaty music that awaits the next lucky victim one has to admire the vocals which reminiscent of ‘Dax Riggs’ doesn't hold back its hostility and are spewed forth with such bile that they add a great deal of character and seem a perfect fit with the maddened gargantuan sludgy riffs. As the drums bash forth the colossal riffs and the bands moves ahead with a swagger that permeates of utter destruction one has to tip their hat to the song writing present here. It was with utmost ease that the band manoeuvres from the slow heavy duty thunderous riffs to a more up tempo pace with its stretched out solos that are an instant throwback to long drives in the sun baked deserts made famous by Fu Manchu.  Whether the band is playing the infectiously catchy stoner rock leanings of ‘Just Got Paid’ which has the innate sense of being able to start a riot among stoner fans anywhere or the skull crushingly heavy riffs on ‘Moonshinin'’ they never stray from their pivotal aim of creating a highly fluid EP that is one of the heaviest pieces of music you will ever come across. Right from the uncompromisingly titanic riffs of opener ‘Slavemen’ to the ramblings of ‘Trailerpark’ which bring to your visual eye a man who is about break all hell loose and the deliciously brilliant main riff of ‘King Of The Cosmos’  the bass work is simply exceptional and instead of just plodding around adds an immense layer of density and thrusts the band towards greater things with its driving bass riffs as witnessed on tracks like ‘Kalifornia’.

‘Boudain’ released this debut after almost 7 years of its formation which took place back in 2006 and with the frequent tempo and mood changes, though the element of heaviness being a constant throughout , the band has released some really dynamic and powerful stuff that leaves you wanting more. An extremely boisterous and fresh release, keep your eyes of this foursome here, who release their debut on the 20^th of April later this year.

SCORE - 73/100

Hear EP teaser here

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Kröwnn - Hyborian Age

ITALY CAN DO NO WRONG

I cannot stress this enough and I know I have said this way more times than I can count, but the combination of Italy and doom is so egregious, so profoundly beautiful and possesses such an innate sense of class, all the while being topped with such a sense of dynamism, that one has to believe that if you like doom in all its down tuned thundering glory and cannot get enough of the genre along with its vast sub-genres then a better scene than Italy doesn’t exist. Out of the country that has graced us with the eccentric mad genius of doom that is Paul Chain, the monolithic dirge draped Abysmal Grief and the incomprehensible conglomeration of doom and progressive rock in a way never dreamed of before by Black Hole, the country, overflowing with musicians of such unfathomable talent and love for doom that happily dives into the territory of fanaticism, has bestowed upon us a new trio that goes by the name of ‘Kröwnn’.

Kröwnn was formed in the summer of 2012 in Venice and has Michele el Lello Carnielli handling the duties of both lead singer as well as guitarist and is backed by two ladies going by the names of Silvia Selvaggia Rossato and Elena Fiorenzano handling the bass guitar and drums respectively.  They released their rather lengthy debut demo entitled ‘Hyborian Age’ spanning almost 40 minutes spread out almost evenly over the six tracks. A cursory look at the artwork leaves you enthralled and curious. A wizard gazes at you standing at an edge of a desert while moons and stars of different colors dot the sky and a gargantuan beast resembling a woolly mammoth roams freely as smoke rises. Combine that imagery with the title of this release and you put together the pieces of the puzzle that give you the thematic proclivity of the band which is an utter reverence towards the fantasy worlds created by authors such as Howard, Moorcock, Tolkien and Martin as well an undying love towards Conan The Barbarian, a topic that fits the genre of doom metal perfectly with all its masculinity and yet is not discussed enough.

Needless to say, Kröwnn play doom metal that has a predilection towards the old school and though they gyrate around power riffs the trio often manoeuvre towards the spectrum of stoner territories and even baste them together with the utmost of repose. However, don’t expect, expansive soundscapes depicting meandering into the sun baked desert or the journeys into the psychedelia induced unknown expanses, but instead take a look at the artwork, drawn in all it warm soothing colors and experience rather a laid back wall of fuzzy sound that acts as in impressive weapon to a strong repertoire of the band. An extremely consistent and fluent release what is truly amazing is their sound writing and how the band manages to string together pieces and form one coherent track after another. Right from the epic feel of the ‘For the Throne of Fire’ which is an instant throwback to ‘Nightfall’ era ‘Candlemass’ or the groove draped stoner embracing that were atypical of ‘The Ethereal Mirror’ era of ‘Cathedral’ on ‘The Woodwose’ each track has some new influences to showcase to listener which instead of sounding derivative and recycled come as a breath of fresh air on an already original release. As the quick choppy riffs of Pentagram and Trouble come to mind on some tracks the band also uses the soft strumming of the bass creating an almost fluid liquid sound as well as swirling riffs on ‘At the Cromlech’ to  remind the listener of later ‘Electric Wizard’. As the trio also throws in elements of hard rock to create catchy choruses and infectious riffs, what is to be noticed is the different moods on each track. If you have ‘Gods of Magnitogorsk’ to sound as the perfect theme to the fight scene in Conan you also have to deal with the depths of desolate despair on ‘The Melnibonean’. If you enjoyed the classic all out rock out parts on ‘At the Cromlech’ you are also subjugated towards going on a trip with the trio through the desert on the lengthy instrumental ‘Stormborn’.

As the lo-fi demo production and feedback a la ‘Sleep’ grips your mind with all its swampy filth you have to give a special mention to Michele. His highly emotive voice thrusts the band all along and has a range that is reminiscent of Messiah Marcolin on the epic parts, the deep sunken bellowing of Glenn Danzig and is at times even reminiscent of ‘Type Negative O’s great Peter Steele in all its sepulchral, forlorn driven power when deciding to sing on a higher register.  Throughout the demo the band permeates an esoteric intelligence by showing it knows what it wants backed by an unbridled creativity of the instruments through which the bands can bring forth unto the listener what the band needs. The song writing and song placing on the album is another brilliant feature innate here and how the band pendulums between the stoner and doom territories, often holding hands of both is truly a testament to the band and its ability to stand out in a genre that is over saturated with bands where the general norm is shelling out recycled Sabbathian riffs backed by no emotion.

Hopefully, these guys can land a record deal, and if they do, I hope they get an opportunity to re record this demo since the lo-fi production takes away a bit of the punch, which if professionally recorded will be a massive one.Keep this beast of a demo in mind. It is one of the best stuff I've heard from a new band for a while, and this is a sign of things to come from ‘Kröwnn’ then brace yourself for a brilliant journey.

SCORE - 78/100

Listen To Release Here

Stonehenge - Bunch Of Bisons

ANOTHER BRILLIANT GERMAN STONER RELEASE

When asked to give a synopsis on Germany’s contribution to metal most will either talk about the brutal Teutonic thrash scene spearheaded by Kreator, Destruction, Sodom and Holy Moses or will bring up or the influence ze Germans had on modern power metal with bands like Running Wild, Blind Guardian, Helloween or Gamma Ray and some may even bring up the heavy metal exports Accept and Scorpions. However, not many know that the country in question here has a budding Doom and Stoner metal scene as well. As we are talking about stoner here, the German catalogue consists of bands like My Sleeping Karma, Kadavar, Samsara Blues Experiment, Electric Moon and Rotor.

This brings us to the new stoner band on the block. Going by the name Stonehenge which is a 4 piece band the band released their debut album entitled ‘Bunch of Bisons’ early in 2013. German stoner rock is notorious for its grandiose take on the mentioned genre and has gained quite some popularity because of it. Continuing in the same vein Stonehenge unleashes this album upon us. Bunch of Bisons can be described as a conglomeration of heavy fuzzed out stoner rock taking elements from both modern as well as the swamis of the genres ala Kyuss and Fu Manchu along with scanty trips into the psychedelia infused unexplained expanses and bluesy marijuana meanderings in a mirage inducing desert baked by the hot sun. These are meshed together with a rock out and live in the moment attitude of classic rock bands and with touches of krautrock sprinkled throughout all the time backed with the unpredictability and song writing skills of progressive rock bands. After you wrap your head around that, drench this in an organ bathed atmosphere and you have what is collectively known as Stonehenge.

With 7 tracks dragging almost an hour this band do not intend to make an easy listening album and know exactly what type of audience they are looking to target.  Apart from the sporadic vocals this is mainly an instrumental band. The band is at times similar to the fellow country mates Samsara Blues Experiment but instead of the drawn on hazy jams that enveloped the listener with Stonehenge you feel a proclivity towards more structured and thought of songs. While the album opener ‘Arctic Brother’ starts off with a krautrock type intro that lasts over a minute it doesn’t take for the band to get into its groove with the plodding riffs, groovy interludes and solos that can range from soaring to mini dabbles. Though there is the obvious worship at the school of Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, especially on the title track, the band is never a rip off with its numerous tempo changes that contribute greatly to the atmosphere and the bands paltry respect for conventional song structures. Even though the band lays nothing back when it comes to the riffs department the changes in tempo and riffs are at times subtle which if one pays close attention to detail can understand how they complement each other. With each track and each passing minute you understand the band lesser and lesser as the band may at times cover you with a barrage of new riffs be it groovy or a soft strum and it times follow the minimalist approach by attempting to create an atmosphere through repetition and continually surprise you with sharp twists and sudden turns. Whatever the band seems to throw towards the listener be it a earthy and melodic phase or an unpredictable tempo change or a dope induced rambling section or even the fuzzed out heavy leads coupled with the swirling guitar solos you can hear the gargantuan amount of talent this band has and while you are gripped by the complex song structures you can sense the bands high level of amusement and frolic. The way the band has meshed together the unusually high amount of variables and still come up with a release that surrounds you and flows with such fluidity for almost 60 minutes is certainly laudatory.

Johannes steals the show with his organ work

It is not unusual for a bands selling point to be the guitar work or powerful vocals, but here the person who takes the cake easily is Johannes, the guy behind the keyboards and organs with his ‘I sold my soul to the devil’ like grandiose performance. His work is what gives the band its unique sound and thrust the bands to greater levels of originality and greatness. And with this, Stonehenge has once again proved why Germany is the hub of stoner music and is constantly putting out bands and albums in an unimaginable stagnant genre of music. ‘Bunch Of Bisons’ is an extremely powerful debut in an extremely over stuffed and uncreative genre, and with a little luck they may gain the much deserved accolades fellow bands like Kadavar has gotten.

SCORE - 83/100

Listen to entire album here