Thursday 14 August 2014

Bongripper - Miserable (Album Review)



Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 7/7/2014
Label: The Great Barrier Records

‘Miserable’ CD/DD/LP track listing:

1). Endless 17:48
2). Descent 18:51
3). Into Ruin 28:25

Review:

Coming off the success of their Doom masterpiece ‘Satan Worshipping Doom’ Chicago’s Bongripper is a heavyweight in doom metal and their latest record further reinforces their place among the heavy.

From the first second to the last, Bongripper’s ‘Miserable’ hits you like a truck and leaves you flattened with its heavy riffage. As the first track begins, I felt like time and space was slowing down, indeed it sets a very dark mood for the rest of the record. Listening and closing my eyes it truly felt like something bad was about to happen and I was anticipating such a thing the entire time. Staying true to their name, Bongripper makes you feel like taking a rip and cracking open a cold one, particularly during a moment in the middle of the first track, where you are given a breather from the band's relentless assault of high gain.  Instead you are taken into a Pink Floyd type feeling that is very pleasing to hear, but on the whole ‘Endless’ is perhaps one of heaviest tracks to date from Bongripper.


The second track, ‘Descent’ features some great riffs, but is different from the typical style Bongripper brings to the table; leading us brilliantly into the powerful track ‘Into Ruin’ spanning a massive 30 minutes in duration, it is truly a journey of pure heavy doom. It is powerful, heavy, consistent and a monolith in itself!

Overall ‘Miserable’ is a great follow up and another heavy, very consistent record. Bongripper matures its sound and production wise they have reached perfection in terms of maximizing the Bongripper experience. In the end Bongripper unleashes a beast of a record and delivers again, further cementing their place as a Stoner Doom Monolith. Fans of ‘Satan Worshiping Doom’ will not be disappointed as the Chicago 4 piece has created another heavy consistent and memorable record.

Words by: Frank Heredia




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