Album
Type:
EP
Date
Released:
May 25th
2015
Label:
Candlelight
Records
Trail
Of The Serpent - Track Listing:
1.The Gathering
2.Following the
Trail
3.Stench Of Prey
4.Driven Snow
Members:
Mattias Nööjd -
Guitars/Vocals
Fredrik Käll –
Drums
Bio:
From the deepest,
nastiest recesses of Gothenburg comes crushing Swedish sludge duo
Galvano. Now comprising Mattias Nööjd (guitars/vocals) and Fredrik
Käll (drums), Galvano originally started out as a three-piece in
2005. Within two years a demo was released and live shows played.
Galvano embarked on
their first mini tour in 2010 visiting Denmark and a set of German
cities. That same year the band were asked to feature on a split so
they went into the studio and recorded the epic single “The
Librarian” which was mixed and mastered by the legendary Billy
Anderson (Orange Goblin, Cathedral, Eyehategod). This was released as
a 10” in 2011 on SM Musik from Leipzig, Germany. The release was
then followed up by a full European tour.
After this tour the
band said goodbye to their fourth bass player and decided to move on
as a duo. Early in 2012 they teamed up with UK based label Devouter
Records for the release of their debut full-length album “Two
Titans”. The album was released on December 5th and was very well
received by both fans and media.
Since then the band
has played over 35 shows during several European tours including UK
and Ireland and are confirmed to play this year’s Desertfest in
Camden, London.
Review:
One
spin of “Trail of the Serpent” was enough to add Galvano to my
list of reasons (alongside Floor, Minsk and Black Cobra) why I should
have gone to Desertfest last weekend. In recent times I’ve come to
associate heavy bands from Sweden with the retro psyche and doom
stylings of Witchcraft and Graveyard but this Gothenburg duo firmly
shattered my preconceptions.
Right
from the very start of opener “The Gathering”, Galvano let you
know what the next 40 minutes is going to be about: a relentless
onslaught of weapons-grade riffage. “Trail of the Serpent”
consists of four weighty slabs of monolithic riffcraft that bring to
mind all that is great in the world of sludge and doom. Imagine High
on Fire at their most frenzied, squeezing their entire back catalogue
into one album and you wouldn’t be far off the rich tapestry that
Galvano weave here. There are also elements of Mastodon’s
“Remission” glory days and the progressive crunch of early
Baroness Eps.
The
number of moments of quiet during this album can be counted on one
hand. There are passages of gentle plucked calm reminiscent of Yob in
“Following the Trail” and “Stench of Prey” but these merely
act as the briefest of palate cleansers before the band roar back
into full gear. While volume and distortion is very much to the fore
throughout “Trail of the Serpent”, and the torrent of riffs never
lets up, it is to Galvano’s credit that this album is always
engaging. Each track traverses a number of different moods, tempo
changes and subtle dynamic shifts so there is still a sense of light
and shade even when everything is turned up to 11. The band also
manage to avoid falling into the trap of writing long songs that
sound like a number of unrelated ideas strung together under the
guise of being progressive.
Everything
here melds together perfectly with sections reoccurring and
developing as the tracks surge forward.
This
is a fine effort from Galvano that has got me kicking myself that I
wasn’t aware of them sooner following their “Two Titans” debut
back in 2012. Here’s hoping they make it back to the UK soon so
that I can make up for lost time and experience this ferocious beast
in the live arena.
Words
by Charlie Butler
Thanks
To Candlelight Records and GALVANO for the album promo. Trail Of The
Serpent will be released on CD/DD from Candlelight Records from May
25th 2015. Vinyl Version will be released by PelagicRecords from June/July 2015.
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