The Sludgelord: Vinyl Corner: Sinister Haze - "Laid Low in the Dust of Death" (Album Review) & Exclusive Full Album Stream

Monday, 2 May 2016

Vinyl Corner: Sinister Haze - "Laid Low in the Dust of Death" (Album Review) & Exclusive Full Album Stream

By: Hunter Young

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 07/05/2016

Label: STB Records

“Laid Low in the Dust of Death” is a monster of flaming slag dripping from the fingers of one of the best bands going, they lay you low with riffs upon riffs, Brilliant vocal setups, and production that will just destroy you. Sinister Haze has nothing to be compared to, keeping it fresh and heavy no matter what they are doing, and this album should rank in the top 5 of any list out there.

“Laid Low in the Dust of Death” DD//LP track listing:

1). Same No Good

2). Chains to Rust

3). Shot Through Darkness

4). Lead On

5). Tears of Lilith

6). A Buried Dream

The Review:

Holy journey of a thousand hot riffs Batman! Like sticking a fork in a live electrical socket, Sinister Haze's newest offering, “Laid Low in the Dust of Death”, slams into you with no apologies.

Melting through speakers and other apparatus, Sinister Haze play a molten form of Doom N Roll or Fuzz N Roll; alternating between some of the most massive doom riffs, played at a speed other than dead, and some of the most singing leads outside the 60s and 70s. It's Hi Gain Heaven! They also have the best usage of wonderful effects, wah pedal, overdrive for days, fuzz (duh), and so many delicious other options layered over the most legitimate of talent to tickle your ear. And they bring the blackened swagger along with it, knowing full well you can't turn away.

The album kicks it all off with the barn burner, “Same No Good”. I have to say, if that opening riff doesn't get your body moving in some way, or make you react at all, what are you even doing here? Loud, reverberating vocals come at you after the guitar does its best to light your soul aflame. Flipping magic. The album is full of amazing spotlights that will hit many different genre strings in the listener. “Chains of Dust” is an absolute mire of doom riffs, crushing you as they sink their vocal hooks into you. The meandering lead at the halfway mark slay, pure and simple.

Then you have the midsection, starting with “Shot Through Darkness”, a dark musical journey, seething with tension and rolls through the speakers with a pissed off doom vibe; it's a major highlight of the album, but not a song to show someone who isn't a fan of the darker styled fuzz forms. The lead is searing on this track, and get very spaced out on the end. “Lead On”, slaps you again with that doom hand, but a bit of a quicker pace. Like a jog compared to the menacing amble of “Shot through Darkness”, you'll be thrown through the 4+ run time, and this is definitely a song I would shown people who haven't heard this style before. Easy access and a solid song.

And finally, last third of the album kicks off with the massive track “Tears of Lilith”. It's a slog at just over 7 minutes, but it seamlessly weaves their slower style with that electric voodoo they manage to tune into on their wah pedal. It rock while it rolls, and then pops you a couple in the face. Just stellar for the third longest track on the album, holding your attention perfectly. Now, for the longest song, with a12 minute run, the last track is fairly different from what they've given previously. The vocals are still doubled, but their timing nowhere near synced, giving a weird atonal disharmony to the vocal side and making it a weird as hell experience until one starts to work in the more aggressive yelling . It becomes a pretty cool effect once you hear it a couple times, and makes you want to see where they are going with it. Musically, it's a very dreary, grey backing track that follows the vocals, creating an almost funeral atmosphere, for the first chunk of the track, changing at about the half point. They start adding some molten slag, guitar screaming above some superb drumming. Not overly flashy, it stays in the wheelhouse of just great playing, letting you enjoy 6 minutes of fresh, potent refreshment pumping out of the speakers. This is also where you would pull out the lighters we all know you have.

“Laid Low in the Dust of Death” is a monster of flaming slag dripping from the fingers of one of the best bands going, they lay you low with riffs upon riffs, Brilliant vocal setups, and production that will just destroy you. Sinister Haze has nothing to be compared to, keeping it fresh and heavy no matter what they are doing, and this album should rank in the top 5 of any list out there. It's going to spin itself into a maelstrom of destruction once you hit play, and you won't withstand it's buffeting for long.

“Laid Low in the Dust of Death” will be available on vinyl via STB Records here from 7/05/2016 and you can check out the amazing full stream below.

Band info: bandcamp || Facebook

Sinister Haze Vinyl Info

Sinister Haze - "Laid Low In The Dust Of Death"