By:
Ernesto Aguilar
Album Type: Full-length
Date Released: 18/08/2017
Label: Dissonant Society
Weed
Demon is quite willing to show they can do a diverse attack that goes beyond a
Melvins-ish crunch. It can definitely throttle you with heavy, sludged out
guitars and drums. Yet, as you find on "Primordial Genocide" and
elsewhere, Weed Demon can go from blasting to burrowing with its arrangements,
zipping from fast to slow, metal to a variation on math rock, smoothly.
"Astrological Passages “CS//CD//DD "track
listing
1.
Astrological Passages
2.
Primordial Genocide
3.
Sigil of The Black Moon
4.
Dominion of Oblivion
5.
Jettisoned
The Review:
A
band who call themselves Weed Demon and does
five songs that clock out at 50 minutes pretty much says all you need to know
about it being a stoner metal clique, doesn't it? Not completely. The Columbus,
Ohio troupe has, in truth, a lot more in store for you.
Stoner
metal has and has previously had many great acts as part of its history. Though
the mainstream probably could not tell the difference between stoner and
several other variations of doom, discriminating listeners know it when they
hear it. Weed Demon flies the flag in its name and
other venues. It certainly has other influences at its base.
On
their debut full-length, a follow up to their 2015 EP, Weed Demon
is quite willing to show they can do a diverse attack that goes beyond a Melvins-ish crunch. It can definitely throttle you with
heavy, sludged out guitars and drums. Yet, as you find on "Primordial Genocide" and elsewhere, Weed Demon
can go from blasting to burrowing with its arrangements, zipping from fast to
slow, metal to a variation on math rock, smoothly. "Sigil of the Black Moon" kicks off as if it is your
standard issue doom cut, but evolves into capacious blues rock, then plunges
you into deep sludge. Where their first recording felt straightforward and
perhaps not as adventurous, Weed Demon seems more
confident in their own skin, with members gutsy in their willingness to take
songs out to the farther reaches of your expectations.
The
vocal style is just as varied, wherein a song like "Dominion of Oblivion" conveys almost a kind of funeral
doom in its chanting verbalization. Rarely do you find stoner and funeral cross
paths, so this bridge of the song is fresh. The music grows more insistent as
it goes on, as does the vocal. That song is followed by "Jettisoned," a sprawling 12-minute-plus track to wrap up
the recording. With its harmonica accents, rockabilly sort of segueway and long
instrumental stretches, the cut seems aimed at, as the group says, to smoke and
just jam. However, the overall effort here is far superior to background music.
And Weed Demon, regardless of its name, is hardly your average stoner metal
group.
"Astrological
Passages" is available to preorder/buy on CS here and CD//digital here. The
album is official out on the 18/8/2017, but you can stream it exclusively in
full below.
