By: Mark Ambrose
Album Type: Full Length
Date
Released:
06/04/2018
Label: Australopithecus
Records
Like the mythos of Tolkien himself, “Second
Sight” is a vast, apocalyptic, intimidating slab of genius and practically
invites obsessives and neophytes alike to bask in the overwhelming worlds
within.
“Second Sight” DD//LP track listing
1.
Black Numenorean
2.
Recurring Grave
3.
Axis Mundi
4.
The Seer
The Review:
Since
the 1960s rebirth of “The Lord of the
Rings” as the go-to fantasy epic of counterculture, the utopian, religious,
horrific, and even whimsical elements of J.R.R. Tolkien’s opus have been
peppered into practically every subgenre of pop and rock music. Whether the weird folk pop single “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins” (Leonard
Nimoy’s only musical hit), the numerous references in Led Zeppelin’s catalog, the
derivative fantasy prog epics of power metal, countless band names, or the
Uruk-hai obsessions of black metallers, there’s something about the Tolkien’s “Legendarium”
that invites musical adaptation, inspiration, and exploration. On the flipside, it’s also inspired a lot of
eye-rolling crap – insipid name checks, tedious inside jokes, or, most insidiously,
the racially coded misreading of particularly deficient black metal types. Mostly, musicians who take on Tolkien shrink
in comparison to the monolithic power; Foehammer is not one of these casualties of
hubris. The doom metal power trio is one
of the only modern units formidable enough to wrestle with the Nazgul and
emerge victorious.
“Black Numenorean” is the only
explicit “Tolkien namecheck” song on Foehammer’s debut full length, “Second Sight”, but the entirety of the
record is viscerally, elementally brutal, like a reverberating pyroclastic
blast from Mount Doom. Tolkien’s “Black
Numenoreans” are the original corrupted men, turned against the powers of good
to support their own sinister ambitions, and Foehammer’s auditory rendering
is the perfect metaphor of corruption and martial obsession. Stomping, rolling blasts of guitar fuzz,
slowly aching bass riffs, and crashing percussion are the perfect
soul-demolishing soundtrack for nihilistic evil. I could imagine Sauron himself bellowing in
sinister triumph through Jay Cardinell’s trademark death growls.
“Recurring Grave” may not be
distinctly Tolkeinesque, but it continues the strain of trudging orc sludge,
winding up to agonizing, palm muted buildups.
Joe Cox’s guitar tone is spot on – a gradual build of feedback and
subtly bluesy riffs that you’ll find yourself humming for days afterward. The ethereal fingerpicking intro of “Axis Mundi” may have you thinking
you’ve stumbled into Rivendell, but Foehammer quickly descends back into total
darkness. The rhythmic one two punch of
Cardinell’s bass and Vang’s titanic drum hits is pure filthy doom joy, while
Cox gets to ramp up his playing for a full on shredding solo.
The
closing sixteen-minute epic, “The Seer”,
is a perfect apotheosis of “Second Sight”’s
expansive tone, doom riffing, and occasional guitar freakouts; Cardinell’s
growl is truly menacing, Vang’s drums pummel and then retreat, and the fuzz is
unrelenting. Jay’s bass, allowed a
minute to churn alone, has the perfect mix of crackle and clarity. The nearly instrumental second half is a
transcendent final dirge that will break your neck from glacial but memorable
hooks and riffs, before a final screeching fadeout that will beg you to fire up
this LP all over again. Like the mythos
of Tolkien himself, “Second Sight” is
a vast, apocalyptic, intimidating slab of genius and practically invites
obsessives and neophytes alike to bask in the overwhelming worlds within.
“Second Sight” is available here
