Monday 13 April 2015

Venus Sleeps - Dead Sun Worship (Album Review)

Dead Sun Worship cover art

Album Type: Album
Date Released: 13th March 2015
Label: Self Released

Dead Sun Worship - Track Listing

1.Ether Sleeper 08:56
2.Dawn Of Nova 07:22
3.Golden Hair 03:47
4.I Am The Night 08:37
5.Age Of Nothing 11:11

Members:

Sie Carroll (Guitar & Vocals)
Steven Anderson (Guitar & Backing Vocals)
Seán O'Connor (Bass)
Fergal Malone (Drums)

Bio:

Venus Sleeps are a 4-piece Psychedelic Doom band from Dublin, Ireland.

Review:

Dublin has offered us another Doom and Gloom band to check out. Venus Sleeps feel like they've come out of a centuries old slumber to wreck havoc upon the world of Doom Metal. Fans of Candlemass, Saint Vitus and Black Sabbath will be in their element here. As Venus Sleeps debut album - Dead Sun Worship - even though not entirely original still has more than enough doom and gloom ridden riffs to thrill the most jaded of Doom Metal fan.

Opening track - Ether Sleeper - is pure Sabbath Worship territory with the band adding a more progressive doom metal feel. The vocals have a certain 70s old school doom vibe around them though the band do pack a lot of heavy fuzz to give their sound that feels like the best of modern doom metal mixed with classic doom atmospherics. The sound of the album feels like it was recorded on vintage equipment as it has quite a historic feel to it. It matches the overall tone of the album superbly well.

Ether Sleeper will also appeal to Occult Rock/Stoner Metal fans as Venus Sleeps offer a range of different sounds at different parts of the album. With this song being the case in point. The band play at a good slow to mid pace that allows their music the time to breathe and flow naturally. The first song will give you a good indication where this album is heading as the band don't change direction much as it's a winning formula, so why mess with it. Heavy pounding slow-
paced Doom Metal riffs is the main order of business and it's a simple formula that works from start to finish. 

Second Track - Dawn Of Nova - carries on the vibe from the first song though the band do impress through out. However it's the third track - Golden Hair - that impressed me the most as the band take a more experimental turn covering a Syd Barrett track but they add Drone/Ambient Noises with the vocals being replaced by an Occult based Chant that gives the album a different identity. Though it's back to normal business on the albums final two tracks - I Am The Night and Age Of Nothing that run for a combined total of 20 mins.

It's an exciting ride as Venus Sleeps start to grow in confidence especially on the last song - Age Of Nothing - where they start playing epic doomy soundscapes with a hint of ambient noise and fuzz that I hope Venus Sleeps will include within their music on future releases. All in all Venus Sleeps have released a superb debut album that Doom Metal fans will go crazy for.

Thanks to Venus Sleeps for the promo. Dead Sun Worship is available to buy on CD/DD from BandCamp now.

Words by Steve Howe

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