ALBUM REVIEW: Somnuri - "Somnuri"

By Ralka F. Skjerseth

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 10/11 2017

Label: Magnetic Eye Records

This self-titled debut is an impressive debut, possessing a musical style that is extensive, manifesting decibels of subliminally-composed heavy fuzz and thrashing resonances inspired by a myriad of names such as Mastodon, High on Fire, and Baroness

“Somnuri” DD//LP track Listing:

01. Kaizen

02. Inhabitant

03. Same Skies

04. Slow Burn

05. Opaque

06. Welcome The Stranger

07. Pulling Teeth

08. Through The Dead

The Review:

Up-and-coming stoner/sludge/doom metal/progressive trio from Brooklyn, Somnuri, consisting of members of Blackout, Hull, and Family, they are formidably manifesting decibels of subliminally-composed heavy fuzz and thrashing resonances inspired by a myriad of names such as Mastodon, High on Fire, and Baroness. There definitely is diverse elements that can be found in their style— be it a convergence of black metal, sludge, math rock, progressive post-metal, you name it. As a result, they successfully manage to present a profound variety of paces, rhythms, and vocal ranges. They are the kind of band that would not hesitate to solicit influences from an extensive range of references in order to evolve as their own kind of authenticity. I personally don’t think that they suit only one single mundane classification of genre; they branch out in the most proficient way ever possible. They have done an awesome job of presenting how their elements can be ethereal but also belligerent at the same time-- their style is like a conundrum. It’s interesting to find trails of black metal-inspired growls in a sludge content that can be found in some tracks, as well.

The first track, “Kaizen”, is an atmospheric tune that appears to be strong on stoner elements and features a slow-paced outro which contrasts to the fast and upbeat beginning of the song. Hereafter, there comes “Inhabitant” with a blistering nuance and black metal-inspired funereal distortion. The next track “Same Skies” is in a more rapid pace than the previous two tracks, intensified by its chaotic drumbeats, and it mainly contains sonorous growls. “Slow Burn” is a droning, fuzzed-out track with prepossessing riffs and a well-crafted combination between growls and clean vocals. “Opaque” happens to be a short track that comes off as tranquil and clandestine. “Welcome the Stranger” has some circle pit-inducing malignant vibes that would trigger you to stage-dive and mosh. Next off we have “Pulling Teeth” and its convoluting riffs of the damned. The last track “Through the Dead” is a rhythmic, ethereal take on stoner that closes the album as the longest track.

This self-titled debut is an impressive debut, possessing a musical style that is extensive and not chained to one certain sphere only. It has a lot of scenes and roots implemented in its content, and it’s such a good start for them.

“Somnuri” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

Blackout - 'Blackout' (Album Review)

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 31/03/2015

Label: Riding Easy Records

‘Blackout’ CD//DD//LP tracklisting:

1). Lost

2). Blackout

3). Nightmare

4). Sprites

5). Cross

6). Tannered

7). Human

Blackout is:

Christian Gordy | Guitar, vocals

Taryn Waldman | Drums

Justin Sherell | Bass

Review:

When the new Blackout record hit my mailbox the first thing that comes to my mind was that Sludgelord had sent a Scorpions cover band to review, then I saw the record-sleeve I was convinced it was another Magic Numbers in the pipe, so thank God it wasn’t.  Instead I was served another crushing release from Riding Easy Records. A delightful piece of doom-perfection.

It’s not an easy record to listen to at first because it demands the listener’s attention, but following several spins you will be rewarded.  Expect at least 5 or 6 times before it opens up. The record which at first was a little bit anonymous, unfolds itself to be a beautiful meal served with crushing riffs, a spicy bass sound and delightfully furious vocals.

Kicking off with the first song ‘Lost’, it begins with its self-sustained oscillation, sounding like a beeswarm, feedback going between fuzzy and screechy until the abolishing riff commences.  The track still feels groovy and intimate in the same way, but the breakdown in the middle of the song is a high point, speeding up the song to the end.

Blackout follows up with the angry riff and furious vocals to ‘Blackout’ and the epic enchanting lyrics of “You say you’re blacked out”. There is much to enjoy as it gives the listener the picture of a mad man in a psychic ward howling the same line again and again.  As the medics kick in and leave a broken man behind, the song ensues into another world with a much slower riff.

The well-soaked grooves in the third track sound very much in the same vein as Torche. ‘Nightmare’ sounds fresh and Gordy’s acrobatic wailing is a little bit on the spooky side. I especially like the way Blackout fuses these heavy-riff moments into an experimental psychedelic melting pot.  ‘Human’, at nearly 7 minute, is full blown eargasm, with its epic Black Sabbath riff opening things up, with a nice long intro of two chords leading us into the main riff. I just adored the way the song is built around the riff and how it’s structured with both heaviness and serious mid-tempo thunder.

In my humble opinion I really would like the band to go further with songs in the same vein as ‘Human’ on forthcoming records because it’s a good mix of what I love about the band. It has heavy moments mixed with psychedelia and for me this approach adds another dimension to their sound.  Overall though, this is another quality release from Blackout and Riding Easy records.   

Words by: Sven-Åke Alveving

‘Blackout’ is available now here

For more information:

https://blackout666.bandcamp.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/BlackoutNYC



Blackout - We Are Here (Album Review)

Album Type : Full Length

Date Released : 25/10/2013

Label : Self Release

We Are Here, album track listing :

1. Indian 04:56
2. Amnesia 03:07
3. Smoker 06:06
4. Columbus 04:12
5. Anchor 04:14
6. Seven 09:17

Bio :

NYC psychedelic doom trio, BLACKOUT, is pleased to announce the release of their We Are Here debut! Recorded at Vacation Island Studio with engineer/producer Rob Laakso (Diamond Nights, Swirlies, Kurt Vile),We Are Here offers up six gristly hymns of bottom heavy, head-throbbing, red-eyed awesomeness. Appropriately described as “thick, riff-led heavy psych that blends Sleep‘s stoner heyday and classic Melvins stomp with a touch of Rob Crow‘s vocal compression in Goblin Cock,” by The Obelisk who further commends their “riffy stoner traditionalism,”BLACKOUT is in it to win it and will undoubtedly be knocking on your door like a hairy, black clad Jehovah’s Witness who wants to smoke you out and listen to Sabbath records.
 

Comments the band in a collective statement: “We are really excited to get this record out. We’re not a methodical band and our biggest hope was that the record sounded like us in the jam room… heavy, slow, and drunk. So that’s exactly what we did… drank lots of beer and let Rob do his thing. The whole session was pretty blurry but we’re psyched with the results.”

The Band :

Taryn Waldman | Drumz
Christian Gordy | Vocals/Guitars
Justin Sherrell |Bass/Vocals

Review :

Sometimes, you need a little bit of honest-to-goodness primordial metal.  No pretence, no airs and graces, just crushing doom, feedback-saturated hunks of raw metal.  This is where Brooklyn three-piece instrument destroyers Blackout come in.  Their debut LP ‘We Are Here’ has bashed me like a club and dragged me back to its cave to examine its crude, yet creative, works.  Put on your best animal skins- it’s about to get primitive. 

From the onset of opener ‘Indian’, the feedback wails and bawls like a mammoth caught in a razorblade snowstorm.  Then this RIFF – and it thoroughly deserves every capital letter here – pounds in with a metric ton of musical weight.  If this RIFF were a vehicle, it would be one of those massive earth movers you see in quarries.  If it were an animal, it would be a mammoth.  An angry, smoke-spewing mammoth.  As far as doom album openers go, you will not find a better one than this, in my eyes.  It’s perfect. 

‘We Are Here’ feels like a bold statement in many senses.  The music tolls its presence on the scene with glorious, distortion-choking intent: check out ‘Smoker’ to not only hear, but feel the band’s explosive desires.  Guitarist/vocalist Christian Gordy seems to call to us from the dawn of Time on this track, goading us to greet him in his spacey verses, only to be met with a Big Bang punch in the choruses.  Feedback is the fourth member of the band too: used to such screechingly good effect it strums on the heartstrings of every EyeHateGod fan out there, who will no doubt find a new love in Blackout. 

If the five preceding tracks make a bold statement, final song ‘Seven’ makes a bold statement while riding on the back of an iron-armoured Tyrannosaurus Rex.  At over nine minutes long, it is a doom epic, emulating classic Sabbath and also throwing in its own fuzz-filled mania which I find so ridiculously appealing.  Drummer Taryn Waldman and bassist Justin Sherrell are just amazing on this: the former slamming on her drums with a tribal passion, while the latter pours on the deep bass lines like he’s laying down the final notes of mankind.  It’s heaviness on a truly mind-imploding scale, and the most beautiful ugly music I’ve ever heard. 

Blackout are just starting on their musical odyssey, and ought to have their snail-paced doom demons listened to by anybody with a desire to hear great music.  ‘We Are Here’ is six tracks of the best primeval doom metal this year has to offer, an album just waiting to show your speakers what amazing things it can do for you.  Listen, and let your mind be transported to a better time and place. 

Words by : Chris Markwell

You can buy it here

For more information :

http://blackout666.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BlackoutNYC