STONEBURNER is one of the mainstays of the Portland , Oregon
To describe Stoneburner’s music one need
only look to the list of bands with whom they’ve shared the stage: Yob,
Sleep,
EYEHATEGOD,
Neurosis,
Buzzov-en,
Weedeater, Saint Vitus, Watain, Tragedy, Noothgrush, Graves At Sea, Lord Dying,
Drop Dead, Whitehorse, Wind Hand, Bastard Noise and etc. It’s all
about domination through amplification and soul-cleansing catharsis. Stoneburner
does not put on airs for anyone. The shows are not "rituals".
According to guitarist Eli Boland, playing in Stoneburner “…takes care of the thing inside us that would otherwise lead to serial
murder. It cleanses my soul, eases my demons, and fills my heart in a way that
keeps me high for a good long while.
Upon receiving their debut album “Sickness Will Pass”, I
remember being absolutely blown away and
had heard nothing like at the time. “Life
Drawing” (review here)
their second album would follow in 2014 via Neurot
Recordings, however today we’re
going to rewind back through The Sludgelord archives to this day 5 years ago (24/5/2012) and give you guys
another opportunity to check out, what I believed to be at the time, one of the
albums of the year in 2012. Make up your
own mind by checking it out for yourselves below.
The Bio was pinched from here By: Aaron Pickford
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released:
22/5/2012
Label: Seventh Rule
Label: Seventh Rule
‘Sickness Will Pass’ is an ugly,
visceral and truly terrifying beast of an album. It sounds monumental and is
herculean in scale and is the benchmark of which all future releases this year
will be judged. It is quite possibly the ultimate sludge metal album
of the year. I urge you to buy this album, you will not be disappointed.
‘Sickness Will Pass’ DD//LP track listing:
1).
Christian’s Charity 6:00
2).
Marriage 7:15
3).
Run Boy... 6:40
4).
Elesares 8:38
5).
We Have Failed 5:55
Stoneburner is:
Jesse
McKinnon | Drums, vocals
Damon
Kelly | Bass, vocals
Elijah
Boland | Guitars
Jason
Depew | Guitars
The Review:
Have
you ever seen the movie Hellraiser, the excellent British
horror movie? The premise of the movie is about a puzzle box, which
can open a portal to a realm of new carnal pleasures. Instead, it opens up a
portal to the realm of the "Cenobites,"
who take people as prisoners and subject them to extreme, sadomasochistic
torture. ‘Sickness Will Pass’ reminds
me of that movie, because this record is that puzzle box and once you push
‘start’, the listener is subjected to an explorative cerebral experience so
extreme that it transcends the boundary between pain and pleasure. The
record is like an atomic weapon, with the desired effect being an
explosion of music, intent on destroying all that stands in its path; to the
very core of the earth.
‘Christian’s
Charity’ is a ferocious opening, the colossus that
is the opening burst of sound is like a sonic boom, an explosion to the
senses, with a public health warning decree from the band to ‘Please,
make yourself scarce’? The song is incredible, sitting somewhere
between the sound of Yob and ‘Remission’ era, Mastodon. It
is a song of unparalleled density, the riffs are beautifully disgusting, and it
is as if the band is intent on turning the thumbscrew, until you
surrender. In truth this song and indeed the album feel like a torture
test, begging the question. Is this a puzzle box you wish to
open? Despite the pummelling riffs, discordant bass and the gut
spewingly psychotic Djinn like vocals, the song is layered with
variety too, but remains volatile and savagely malignant, until a minute from
the end when they tone things down to a moment of acid fused psychedelia.
‘Marriage’ begins
with an almost processed chugging guitar riff, perhaps enhanced by the use of
flanger? You can hear the two guitars in unison. Then we’re
back to the heaviness of the scarifying riffs, this is certainly not a marriage
made in heaven. Essentially an instrumental track, showcasing the
awesome musicianship of the band, the song is structured around the opening
riff, with slight variations, until around 2:30, when things are slowed down to
that trippy post metal psychedelic breakdown, with clean sliding notes from
bass and guitar, then we’re back to black bile spewing vocals and the booming
sickening din of the riffs, till we’re back to the opening riff, further
augmented by an unorthodox almost C.O.C lead guitar with
squealing pinched harmonics. ‘Run
Boy’... starts with
the fade in of drums, leading into a two minute grooving instrumental passage, Neurosis esque in tone, and then you’re hit like a fist in
the face by the prerequisite pummelling riffs; based around a terrifying chord
progression of which Mike Scheidt would be proud, this track for all intents
and purposes is another instrumental track. The listener’s ears are
then lacerated by the piercing sound of a ‘March Of The Fire Ants’
type riff in tone, at
4:40 the vocals are back in with vehement fury and then we’re subjected to a
further barrage of filth. The final 2 minutes of the song, engages
the kill switch , with loathsome revulsive intent and begs the questions, ‘Do you ask the Djinn for a wish to end
this torture’?
If
you’ve chosen to continue, ‘Elesares’ is up next
and the penultimate noisome, offensive to the point of arousing disgust, it’s
8:36 of virulent toxicity, with a predominant thrash like galloped riff for
much of the song, interchanged with a slow sludgy dirge, it is another
startling example of consummate sardonic perfection. The track feels
like a game from the Saw movie, trapping the listener to test their will or resolve to live through
physical or psychological torture, with the reward being your life.
‘We have Failed’ is the final lysergic acid test, with the band seemingly intent on inducing
the derangement of your personality, before your return to normal social
functioning. If you thought that the track was going to ease off the
vituperation, then think again. The track is as abhorrent as the
first note of the album. It is possibly the most intricate song on
the album, opening with an exchange of heavy chords, hammer offs, slides and
deafening chord progressions, it is a measure of the band that they remain
inventive till the end. At 1:43 they slow things down again to an eerie, almost
horror movie inspired soundscape. Then for the last decisive minutes
of the record, the band end things with one final sneering and derisive
outpouring of morally objectionable dirt. The sickness has passed.
‘Sickness
Will Pass’ is an ugly, visceral and truly terrifying
beast of an album. It sounds monumental and is herculean in scale and is the
benchmark of which all future releases this year will be judged. It
is quite possibly the ultimate sludge metal album of the year. I urge you
to buy this album, you will not be disappointed.
