Album Type : EP
Date Released : 4/3/2014
Label : Brutal Panda Records
Blood Maker, track listing :
1). The Wrecking Ball Unchained
2). Shadow Deserts
3). Blood Maker
Bio :
The Band is: Joshua Holland | Guitar, Vocals
Noah Burns | Drums
Jeff Johnson | Bass
Noah Burns | Drums
Jeff Johnson | Bass
Review :
Resonating the kind of anarchic beauty you’d expect Mastodon to create while enduring a bad acid trip, with a heightened focus on psychedelic aesthetics, Wild Throne have absolutely nailed it with Blood Maker. Put simply, you won’t hear many other debut releases as accomplished, well-rounded and as stunningly executed as this in 2014.
Wisely changing their name from Dog Shredder, the kind of moniker destined to make the RSPCA shit their proverbial pants, their new, less offensive name takes steps towards encapsulating the unfettered mayhem of this record.
From the soft, graceful beginnings of Wrecking Ball Unchained, one of the most ferocious and feral songs of the year so far, it provides the lulling calm before the throbbing, apocalyptic storm that follows. Riff after riff, it takes a sledgehammer to yourself, all the while peppering each track with moments of dynamically quiet and lucid landscapes and lofty choruses.
The fury of Shadow Deserts leaves your mouth agape in a matter of milliseconds. They say that actions speak louder than words, and the faces it leaves stunned listeners pulling, says far more than any superlative-laced review could.
Its bridge riff is a stunning example of what this band are capable of, taking a ravishing, raging riff before bastardising its time signature, adding the crunch when you least expect it. It's followed by crying, fuzzy-enough-to-have-its-own-beard lead guitar work before a whirling, spaced out grooves a-la Hawkwind with their foot on the accelerator and a mesmerising solo takes the foray.
Once more, while you are pummelled with the most insane, mind-bending riffs that transcend a multitude of time signatures and metallic, psychedelic and progressive styles, melodic passages, where Joshua Holland’s vocals soar are never far away. The effect is devastating.
Ross Robinson's (At The Drive In, Machine Head, The Cure) production allows the vast array of intricacies buried within this album to breathe without hindering the brutality of the music. Their resulting sound is huge and impossible to ignore, but trust me, you wouldn’t want to.
Its length, at only 3 tracks, you would think, would leave you craving a little more. Yet, as the silence that follows juxtaposes their sonic storm, you are left entirely satisfied, if not a little out of breath. Wild Throne deserves a massive future.
Words: Phil Weller
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