Wednesday 26 February 2014

The Wisdoom - Hypothalamus - Album Review

THE WISDOOM - "Hypothalamus" cover art

The Wisdoom
Hypothalamus

Heavy Psych Sounds
10 February 2014

The band:

Luigi Costanzo - drums
Daniele Neri - bass guitar
Dario Iocca - guitar, vocals
Francesco Pucci - guitar, vocals

The songs:

1. Alpha 13:31
2. Theta 7:40
3. Delta 15:43
4. Oneiron 6:50

I've said it before but it's worth mentioning again. I love receiving albums by bands I've never heard of before who absolutely turn my world upside down. And Italians The Wisdoom are definitely such a band. Formed in 2010 they only have one previous release in the shape of a self-titled EP from 2011 but you can't tell that this is their first full-length. What I mean is 'Hypothalamus' is so solid, well-played, free-flowing as well as totally mind blowing I get the feeling these guys have played together for decades. That is of course not the case which this debut even better. Taking doom, stoner, sludge and psych and mixing them together in a blender The Wisdoom has created a fresh new approach of the genres I just mentioned. But instead of following each style's formula to the tee all they do is plug in their instruments and simply annihilate. Fucking fantastic!

'Alpha' starts this beast of a wax and it hypnotizes me right away. Because as heavy as The Wisdoom are they are equally trippy and spacey. The repetitive riffs along with the soaring noise effects and backed by the punishing bass and drums puts me in a trance and this is further enhanced in the slower parts when the somewhat screaming desperate voices joins the melee. I feel myself being catapulted into dimesions where forces unknown to me are trying to pull me apart. The band's love psych is no more apparent than in 'Theta'. Slow and totally out there it starts off with a trippy guitar line that sets the tone for the whole song. When the rest of the band joins in a sludgy mode enters the fray but the trippy guitar keeps floating on top of everything...beautiful! As the song progresses psych definitely takes over and it gives me some respite from being ripped to pieces from the previous song.

Looming and threatening like invaders from Mars 'Delta' is creepy as hell especially when that blood curling slide guitar appears out of nowhere. All of a sudden the song explodes like a super nova and I am enveloped by it's fire. All of a sudden the music slows down to almost a full stop and I find myself levitating in total peace. It's dark and quiet and I feel my pulse slowing down and a sense of contentment washes over me. But the moment when I feel absolute freedom The Wisdoom opens the gate and I am sucked into a crescending maelstrom of craziness. 'Oneiron', the last song on this fantastic debut, picks up the pieces of my shattered remains and builds me up from scratch. Slow and mellow it builds up in tempo as I am being recreated...it weaves back and forth before finally throwing the new me back into this world. Truly amazing!

Man, this album couldn't have arrived at a better time. 2014 has been a sucky year so far but listening to 'Hypothalamus' is the perfect remedy for any ailments and problems. As I said in the beginning it doesn't sound like this is The Wisdoom's debut album and that promises so much for the future because there's no telling what these guys can do. I am going to enjoy this wax as much as possible since it's so uplifting but also because new angles appear every time I play it. And that's another sign of a great band...they create multi-faceted albums where you never know what's going to be around the corner. But instead of being scared of what might be you embrace everything they throw at you....fantastico!!!

Molto bene signori, molto bene!

Written by Håkan Nyman

This album is brilliant. And we are huge fans of it here at Sludgelord HQ. It's available to buy on Heavy Psych Sounds via Digital Download and Vinyl. It will be soon coming to vinyl in the USA courtesy of those damn fine folks at Ripple Music via their brilliant distro company - Heavy Ripples Distribution.

Check The Band From Links Below