ALBUM REVIEW: Kirk Windstein, "Dream in Motion"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 24/01/2020

Label: eOne Music

“Dream in Motion” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Dream in Motion

2). Hollow Dying Man

3). Once Again

4). Enemy in Disguise

5). The World You Know

6). Toxic

7). The Healing

8). Necropolis

9). The Ugly Truth

10). Aqualung

The Review:

Kirk Windstein is certainly an underground legend- Crowbar, Down, working with Jamey Jasta- his has quite a curriculum vitae. His debut solo LP proper (nothwithstanding the Jasta pairing) is a very intriguing proposition. Crowbar are heavier than lead and as sludgy as a swamp; what can Windstein bring to the table beyond that. Well, as keen fans will know, Windstein is a big fan of 70s rock and classic songwriting. Certainly, opener “Dream in Motion” is weighty and swampy but it is also hooky and surprisingly... breezy. As the album unfolds, you get a definite sense that this is not Crowbar Mk. II but is instead a kind of mid point between Kirk's influences and his Alma mater.

Over the course of “Hollow Dying Man” and “Once Again”, there is actually plenty of darkness but a little more light than you might expect. The latter is dreamy and ethereal in sound- akin to Mastodon at their most mellow. From there, there is plenty of clean guitar on offer on “Enemy In Disguise” and again it is not huge riffing that draws you in, but the dreamlike spacey quality of the sound. The melancholy vibes continue on through “The World You Know”- as do the melodies. It's like a stripped bare Crowbar with the melodies pushed to the fore while the riffs take a back seat.

There is heaviness and riffage, of course, “Toxic” provides that in spades and comes on strong with its doomy sludge but it also has a lighter side as the dynamics are pushed. Windstein's usual themes of self loathing and desperation are apparent, as per, but with some of the sounds there is also hope. Even the title of “The Healing” states this explicitly. It has quiet and loud dynamics and is a worthy instrumental piece. “Necropolis” is again lighter and akin to almost shoegaze type material... were it not for the glacial tempo and inherent darkness.

By the time of the album's latter stages, it has become clear that Windstein wanted to make an album that didn't rely on brute force but instead let the melodic hooks bring the weight and create atmosphere through an air filled production and reverb combined with the clean sounds on offer. “The Ugly Truth” is a fine example of that ethos and then there is only the Jethro Tull cover of “Aqualung” to finish things. It's a fine cover and a solid snapshot of what perhaps Windstein was invoking over the course of the record; Tull were always not really one thing or another. They weren't rock, folk, pop, hard rock, rock n roll, jazz, blues or anything else but were instead a combination of all those things and created startling music, particularly through their 60s and 70s heyday.

Windstein, then, has a created a mellow and dynamic album with lots of light and dark. It wouldn't have worked as a Crowbar record, so his venturing outside of that stricture is to be commended. A good and worthwhile solo record.

“Dream in Motion” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp

ALBUM PREMIERE: Disrule deliver riffs with more fat than Danish Bacon on sophomore "Sleep In Your Honour"

The world has many things to thank Denmark for over the years, not least its incomparable sense of style and Copenhagen is home to some of the world’s most sought-after designer brands and classic products. My kids would say the piece de resistance is Lego, however they probably haven't stepped on it with no socks on, if they had I am sure they’d change their tune haha.  Have you done it?  Hurts like fuck doesn’t it

When I was a kid the most famous Dane I was aware of other than Lurpak butter was Jan Molby, then when I got into metal, Lars Ulrich was obviously a name associated with Denmark and is arguably one of the countries most recognisable faces, reviled and loved in equal measure, when you trace the roots of Danish heavy metal he is probably top of the tree.

Hailing from Denmark, you’d be mad(s)(Mikkelson) to overlook the band DISRULE., because they are a diamond (King), a doom/stoner heads wet dream, because these guys can groove and rock out with the best of 'em. Clutch, Down, Fu Manchu and the mighty Black Sabbath all come to mind upon listening to their second record “Sleep In Your Honour” and in keeping with the spirit of legendary bands such as Sabbath, it was recorded live at Dead Rat Studio in just two days. 

Streaming in full today exclusively, ensure you turn this one up loud(drup) with a bier (Susanne) in hand.    “Sleep In Your Honour” is released this Friday via Seeing Red Records and is available HERE

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Corrosion of Conformity - "No Cross No Crown"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full length

Date Released: 12/01/2018

Label: Nuclear Blast

Dissipated is the more prevalent punk and thrash of "IX" in favor of the sound that made CoC its name, but done in a contemporary way. As such, this is Corrosion of Conformity's finest work in many years.  "No Cross No Crown is something Corrosion of Conformity fans can rejoice in.

"No Cross No Crown" CD//DD//LP track listing

1. Novus Deus

2. The Luddite

3. Cast The First Stone

4. No Cross

5. Wolf Named Crow

6. Little Man

7. Matre's Diem

8. Forgive Me

9. Nothing Left To Say

10. Sacred Isolation

11. Old Disaster

12. E.L.M.

13. No Cross No Crown

14. A Quest To Believe (A Call To The Void)

15. Son And Daughter

The Review:

Runs as long and lovely as Corrosion of Conformity sadly do not come often. While there are a few collectives that manage to stay together for extensive stretches, maintaining their levels is tough. Since 1984's "Eye for an Eye," few bands have navigated being musically innovative, commercially successful and faithful to their roots as the boys from North Carolina. Although there have been some rocky spots, the results for CoC have largely been positive.  The band has undergone some changes in its style over the decades (see its punk ethos of the 1980s and thrash/punk/crossover in the late 2000s), as well as among its lineup (most importantly the departure of frontman Pepper Keenan in 2005, after leading CoC to its biggest hits and largest arenas). Yet Corrosion of Conformity has survived it all and managed to stay a popular touring – albeit less on the sales front – performer.

When Keenan departed CoC in 2005 to lead Down, the group continued on, but never attained the heights previously touched. A break was punctuated with 2012’s self titled album, 2014's solid "IX" album and EP "Megalodon," and occasional appearances with Keenan. However, the remaining members were coy about a reunion for quite awhile. Yet the lineup's chemistry with Keenan was undeniable, and CoC headed to the studio in 2015, with Keenan back at the mic. "No Cross No Crown" is the product of those sessions.

CoC's history has been marked with many long recording pauses – keep in mind, they've had only five albums since 2000 – and lots of touring. The layoff between the harder edged "IX" and the latest is noticeable, in a positive way – not only because of the stylistic change, but because of the renewed vigor you catch early on "No Cross No Crown." Such fresh energy is irrefutably due to Keenan's rejoining the group. He and the rest of the band have an old spark back. And still, Keenan's vocal is not only enduringly compelling, but comes anew from the heavy blues cloth from which classic metal oftentimes takes cues. Dissipated is the more prevalent punk and thrash of "IX" in favor of the sound that made CoC its name, but done in a contemporary way. As such, this is Corrosion of Conformity's finest work in many years.

If you got turned on to CoC during its "Deliverance" period, a lot of that power and swagger is back. Opener "Novus Deus" slinks through your earbuds and careens right into "The Luddite," with mammoth riffs and Keenan's wicked generalship. What makes Corrosion of Conformity so fascinating in its run is how it has managed to rise above what you think about the music it does. Meaning, CoC is probably most clearly associated with hard rock and metal, but can attract fans among those who like alternative rock, stoner and heavy blues. A song like "Little Man" could easily find a home on mainstream rock radio, for instance. There are a few bands in our contemporary cadence that have managed to do a decent crossover in a fashion that flouts their genre – think System of A Down, Slipknot and a few others – which Corrosion of Conformity enters the conversation with. Obviously, that isn't a musical comparison insofar as CoC has turned their music into something that attracts attention from music fans who might vibe with their particular charisma and originality as much as the songs on "No Cross No Crown." Breathe easy for no Ed Sheeran-esque rapping or elements that detract from its brand; CoC accentuates what it does best instead, while highlighting other influences beguilingly well.

There are lots of durable metal moments on the latest recording that are sure to get longtime CoC fans hyped. "Forgive Me" is a hard rock romp with a roadhouse chaser. "Old Disaster" and "Wolf Named Crow" are vintage CoC, harkening back to its "Clean My Wounds" glory days. Lyrically, Keenan remains poignant as ever, spinning tales with many meanings and conveying messages that avoid being heavy handed, like "Cast the First Stone" ("Back in time before they crossed the line, and the truth was made of gold/Cross of paths that was based on the past, or so the story goes/Strike fear and the end draws near, and the peasants wore a blindfold"). You get the feeling, hearing something as inescapably catchy and aggressive as "E.L.M.," that there's simply a particular pleasure the foursome gets in playing together. Familiarity is part of it. So must knowing they've captured a special bolt of lightning, such as with album closer "A Quest to Believe." However that enthusiasm is distilled, its result is something Corrosion of Conformity fans can rejoice in. Now, bring on the tour.

"No Cross, No Crown" is available here

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Crowbar - "The Serpent Only Lies"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 28/10/2016

Label: E.One Music |

Steamhammer

Each album is demonstrably different while maintaining a common thread so no record is out of place within the discography. Stylistically, I would say that this is closer to “Symmetry...” than “Lifesblood”, and perhaps is a little closer to the band's earliest material, but at the end of the day: it's Crowbar. Where this album sits in the band's discography will only be fully revealed over time, but I can say that it has got better and better with each listen. What a band. Appreciate them while they are here.

“The Serpent Only Lies” CD//DD//LP track listing:

01. Falling While Rising
02. Plasmic And Pure
03. I Am The Storm
04. Surviving The Abyss
05. The Serpent Only Lies
06. The Enemy Beside You
07. Embrace The Light
08. On Holy Ground
09. Song Of The Dunes
10. As I Heal

The Review:

Crowbar are 100% reliable. They have never made a bad album. They have never gone commercial, gone thrash, gone death, gone hardcore or deviated in any way from their uniquely satisfying sound.

Generally regarded as sludge, and New Orleans sludge at that, the band have been operating at the highest level of quality for a quarter of a century now. Kirk is still at the helm and now Todd Strange is back on bass (Kirk plays on the album) after a career in something non-metal related. The album, as per, mixes riffs of the heaviest weight (“Falling While Rising”) with faster bursts of hardcore pace (“I am The Storm”). Most people familiar with the band have a favourite Crowbar album (some go with “Odd Fellows Rest”, some the self titled, or “Broken Glass” etc. etc.) but I can reliably inform you that this one could be a contender on anyone's top spot.

The last record, “Symmetry In Black”, was a tour de force: this is just as good. They really haven't put a foot wrong on this release. The doomy and spacey vibe of “Surviving The Abyss” is a welcome shift in dynamics and recalls “When Planets Collide” (and other tracks) from the bands formidable canon.

Operating, as they do, in a field of one brings its own challenges. The band have to find ways of making things interesting; the line up has always been in flux, but whether this is by design or default I don't know. Each album is demonstrably different while maintaining a common thread so no record is out of place within the discography. Stylistically, I would say that this is closer to “Symmetry...” than “Lifesblood”, and perhaps is a little closer to the band's earliest material, but at the end of the day: it's Crowbar. The title track is as vicious and melancholic as their best work, with Windstein's voice still a unique selling point.

The album is another focused and concise release; ten tracks of similar length gives the right playing time for enjoyment and immersibility (running out of actual words, so making them up!) and each track goes by at a fair clip. “The Enemy Beside You” is another hardcore/sludge hybrid which spits some serious bile. Kirk is in his 50's now, but isn't showing any sign of mellowing. Since leaving Down, he seems to have re-focused on Crowbar and brings some huge riffs and vocals to tracks such as “On Holy Ground” down the back stretch of the record. “Song of the Dunes” is even more impressive, with a rather creepy atmosphere added to the mix.

By the time of “As I heal”, the record had absolutely won me over as yet another sterling piece of work from Crowbar. Where this album sits in the band's discography will only be fully revealed over time, but I can say that it has got better and better with each listen. What a band. Appreciate them while they are here.

“The Serpent Only Lies” is available now

Band info: facebook

TRACK PREMIERE: Louisiana based stoner metal band Vermilion Whiskey debut "The Past is Dead"

 

Louisiana-based stoner metal band Vermilion Whiskey will return with their new album “Spirit of Tradition” on February 17 2017. The band's blend of metal with southern and classic rock is refreshing in a sea of groove/Pantera clones. “Spirit of Tradition” was mixed by Kent Stump of Wo Fat and mastered by Tony Reed of Mos Generator.

Hailing from South Louisiana, Vermilion Whiskey is a working man's band, steeped in whiskey fueled Rock-N-Roll tradition. Their musical roots run deep like river veins stretched across their beloved home state & beyond. VW live and dedicate themselves to the thrill of the stage, no matter the crowd size, you will find 101 proof Vermilion Whiskey. Where the good times roll, they can be found, sharing their own brand of hard-nosed rhythms with any and all who live to have a good time! Long live the riff!  Taking cues from Corrosion of Conformity, Down, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Deep Purple, will undoubtedly create quite the stir upon its release and today, you can get your first taste of this superb album with the premiere of “The Past is Dead” which you can check out below.  Preorder are available now via their bandcamp page. 

“Spirit of Tradition” track listing:

1. Road King

2. The Past is Dead

3. Come Find Me

4. Monolith

5. One Night

6. Loaded up

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Superjoint - “Caught up in the Gears of Application”

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 11/11/2016

Label: Housecore Records

This is gnarly and nasty music made by a figure that is both revered and reviled. Through all the controversy, one thing keeps me coming back to listen to Anselmo: the quality of the music. And the music is as potent as ever. A storming return.

“Caught up in the Gears of Application” CD//DD//LP track listing:

01. Today and Tomorrow
02. Burning the Blanket
03. Ruin You
04. Caught Up In The Gears Of The Application
05. Sociopathic Herd Delusion
06. Circling the Drain
07. Clickbait
08. Asshole
09. Mutts Bite Too
10. Rigging the Fight
11. Receiving No Answer to the Knock

The Review:

Superjoint Ritual, as this band effectively is, made a couple of records in the early 00's and then disappeared as Down reignited and- by my estimation- stagnated. Now, Anselmo is back with a rather different line up but still peddling the same angst ridden mix of sped up/metalled up EHG/Saint Vitus and Black Flag.

Song lengths are fairly concise, the anger is almost tangible and overall this is an unholy racket of rather hardcore proportions. Anselmo recreates the vocal stylings of his early 30's self to good effect. Naturally, he remains (now more so than ever!) a divisive figure- but I'm not here to write about politics; so the music is the focus here.

The likes of “Ruin You” are punk-ish blasts of anger and Phil really does turn in a good vocal performance of raging fury; his best in years. The title track is just a ferocious beast, as is... the rest of the album. Certainly, this record proves that Anselmo's writing and performance have not been hurt by years of drug abuse, scandal, grief and whatever else has been negative grist to his mill. When he screams “we used to be drug addicts!” in “Circling the Drain”, you know that he speaks from a place that you don't really want to go to (no, not Bradford).

Naturally, there is no experimentation here, no subtlety and certainly no ballads. This is horrible and pitch black stuff. In every sense, the album feels like a natural successor to “A Lethal Dose...” combining the bile of the previous two records with the propensity for throwaway song titles (“Asshole”- a nasty little track) and the raw production values. Through the latter stretch of the album, from the lengthier “Clickbait”, the bass intro sporting “Mutts Bite Too”, the sharp “Rigging The Fight” and so on, there is not one backwards step. The record just marches relentlessly onwards.

By the time it ends with the five and a half minutes of “Receiving No Answer to This”, it is quite a relief. This is gnarly and nasty music made by a figure that is both revered and reviled. Through all the controversy, one thing keeps me coming back to listen to Anselmo: the quality of the music. And the music is as potent as ever. A storming return.

“Caught up in the Gears of Application” is available here

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

FFO: Black Flag, Philip Anselmo & The Illegals, Exhorder, Eyehategod

TRACK PREMIERE: Belgian stoner rockers King Hiss deal a "Killer Hand"

I don’t know about you but when you’re searching for new music, often there are key words you’re looking for, “riffs, sabbath, crushing” come to mind.  Moreover when a band is sold as sounding like this or that band, much like today’s featured band King Hiss, who were recommended for fans of Corrosion of Conformity, Clutch, Alice In Chains & Down, immediately your interests piques.

King Hiss have a mission “to write earth shaking songs with attitude and a desire to conquer the world” and since their formation in 2011 and with two solid releases under their belts which were met with overwhelming positive reviews, these Belgian stoner rockers hope to make quite stir and make their dream a reality with the release of their sophomore long-player titled “Mastosaurus”, a concept album portraying the epic adventures of a doomed antihero.

Recorded at Oceanside Studio by producer/drummer Ace Zec (Death Before Disco, Customs & Nailpin), mixed in Austin (USA) by Machine (Clutch, Crobot, Fall Out Boy, Lamb Of God) and mastered by Paul Logus (Anthrax, Clutch, Steel Panther), “Mastosaurus” is schedule for release on October 31^st. Today you can judge for yourselves whether those tags are appropriate, as we stream a brilliant new track entitled “Killer Hand” which you can stream below

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

Mantar - "Ode To The Flame" (Album Review)

By: Phil Weller

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 15/04/2016

Label: Nuclear Blast

Mantar don’t take prisoners, but one listen to “Ode To The Flame” will have you wanting to fall victim to their blackened boogie again and again.

“Ode To The Flame” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Carnal Rising (2:32)

2. Praise The Plague (4:20)

3. Era Borealis (4:00)

4. The Hint (5:02)

5. Born Reversed (3:27)

6. Oz (3:26)

7. I Omen (4:50)

8. Cross The Cross (4:41)

9. Schwanenstein (6:23)

10. Sundowning (5:14)

The Review:

If, by the emphatic clarion call chorus of “Era Bolearis”, Mantar's second full length album hasn't punctured your ears and stunned you into a weirdly invigorating awe, then those harshly hollered words will put that right. "This is Era Bolearis" screams guitarist/vocalist Hanno, with passion and anger boiling in his throat. For a band founded on a musical viscerealism which smashes black metal's smog draped atmospherics and rock n' roll's intrinsic shuffle and swing together and calls the consequent bloody mess its own, you feel the German duo have, staggeringly, one-upped themselves. This is a potent reminder as to why they have affirmed such a strong cult following, which includes the decision makers at their new label Nuclear Blast.

“Death By Burning” was a hugely praised debut, but “Ode To The Flame”, whose title continues both the incendiary semantics of its predecessor as well as its performances, may be darker and more threatening, but it never loses sight of the magic that made that record so damnably fun. For, as heavy as “Death By Burning” was, it wasn't all about fire and fury; beneath its mask was a lighter, more accessible side that made it more than just an aural assault. It's hard to describe what exactly that was, but suffice to say that, whatever it was that compulsively curled that smile on your face as it played out remains. The fact that their residing magic is so mysterious - its appearance omnipresent but always obscured - makes Mantar even more enticing.

They masterfully blast through the cancerous, blackened boogie of “Praise The Plague”, its latter stages joyously virile, while “Born Reversed” sounds like Nergal drowning Down in the swamp from whence they came. They stand as two distinct highlights which, for a band self-described as ‘black metal doom punk’, prove that sometimes the strangest combinations of flavours make the most memorable of dishes.

“Oz” leans much closer to their black metal side, building a punk infused dance ability into the foundations of shadowy tremolo guitar work. Here, and on “The Hint” they continue to express intelligence through dynamics, where the noise and the chaos will drop solely to lowly, gunshot toms, razor sharp vocals slicing the gaps.

Hanno mutates his guitar into a chastising organ on the sacrilegious “I Omen”, and “Cross To Cross” portrays rampant riffwork as a lawnmower possessed.  “Sundowning” closes the album, ensuing apocalyptic results through chugs, explosions and a sound that, as furious as it may be, couldn’t be more compelling.

Mantar don’t take prisoners, but one listen to “Ode To The Flame” will have you wanting to fall victim to their blackened boogie again and again.

“Ode to the Flame” is available now

Band info: facebook

Hangman's Chair - 'This Is Not Supposed To Be Positive’ (Album Review)

By: Phil Weller

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 23/09/2015

Label:  Music Fear Satan

A record as powerful and as potent as this, cannot be ignored. An absolutely sterling effort, it stirs something within you like no other music can.

‘This Is Not Supposed To Be Positive’ CD//DD//LP track listing

1. Dripping low
2. Cut up kids
3. Requiem
4. Your stone
5. Save yourself
6. Les Enfants des Monstres Pleurent Leur Desespoir
7. flashback
8. No One Says Goodbye Like Me
9. Dope Sick Love
10. Rouge Pour Le sang, Bleu Pour La Grace

Hangman’s Chair

Clément Hanvic | Bass

Cédric Toufouti | Vocals, Guitars

Mehdi Birouk Thépegnier | Drums

Julien Rour Chanut | Guitars

The Review:

‘This Is Not Supposed To Be Positive’ may have been birthed in a city famed for its romance, but Paris’ Hangman’s Chair aren’t ones for candlelit dinners and compliments; their fourth album is an impenetrable slab of rueful melancholia. It’s beautifully depressing, soulful and bleak.

Somewhere between the dirge of grunge and the grind of zombified doom, it burns slowly like a candle in the still of the night. ‘Cut Up Kids’ brings to mind Alice In Chains with its buzzing, chainsaw-slowed-down riff work, while the throbbing pain in Cédric Toufouti’s vocals on opener ‘Dripping Low’ is as cutting as it is captivating. Here is a band that knows how to create atmosphere and it bleeds across each and every song brilliantly, they’ve not so much created an album here as they have a universe, another dimension in which you are housed for its course: A place of darkness, cold and woe. But for all its downtrodden gruff, there is something so engrossing about it.

‘Requiem,’ just shy of fourteen minutes long, plays out like a bad dream. It creates an augmented reality with its hazing, trickling chords and whining vocals before a shriek of feedback cuts you into the next track, ‘Your Stone’ with its quiet, dank, and soul bearing beginnings, led by some gentle yet forceful drumming. There’s a real presence about it that, while it pulls you into a deep, negative and highly contemplative mind set, is wonderfully hypnotic. It concludes with a lingering sense of hope beneath all the minor tones. It truly is haunting.

Elsewhere, ‘Flashback’ is afflicting with its scabrous harmonies and imperious grandeur; when the chorus unravels like an orange peel, it leaves you with something sweet and delectable. ‘Dope Sick Love’ sounds like Nirvana’s ‘Lithium’ played half the speed were Layne Stayley fronting the band and ‘Save Yourself’ brings to mind a more brooding Mastodon with its menacing dissonance.  However, what is arguably the most impressive element of ‘This Is Not Supposed To Be Positive’ is its impact on you; it sadistically toys with your emotions, plucking on your heartstrings like an evil Cupid and drags you helplessly into the same despairing mood as their own, one where these sounds are the restless breeze that shivers down your spine. A record as powerful and as potent as this, cannot be ignored. An absolutely sterling effort, it stirs something within you like no other music can.

‘This Is Not Supposed To Be Positive’ is available here

FFO: Alice in Chains, Crowbar, Down, Goatsnake

Band info: bandcamp | facebook

Godsleep - 'Thousand Sons Of Sleep' (Album Review)

By: Theron Moore

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 18/09/2015

Label: Self Released

I think the reason why the record works so well is the musical chemistry which is fantastic. “Thousand Sons of Sleep” is a deep and complex record with a lot to offer. I’m recommending buying this record, the boys in Godsleep are quite good at what they do and this record proves it well.

‘Thousand Sons Of Sleep’ CD//DD track Listing:

1.The Call 07:18

2.Thirteen 08:00

3.Wrong Turn 09:08

4.This is Mine 04:15

5.I Want You 06:50

6.Home 08:27

7.Feel Like Home 04:02

The Review:

Godsleep starts the show with “The Call,” going all the way back, summoning forth ghosts, wringing up cosmic echoes of 1968 to 1971. For me “Thousand Sons of Sleep“ really brought up memories of Noel Redding’s post Hendrix band Road, it just has that vibe to it although Godsleep covers a fair amount of musical territory on this record from stoner to metal to southern boogie & blues even.  I liked how the band plays coy throughout most of the song, waiting, building until the moment presents itself unloading, heavy as titanium drums in full thunder mode, watery, spacey vocals mesmerizing behind a wall of psychedelic guitar sound.

But Godsleep plays with you, entices you, allowing the song to build with ominous anticipation teasing you with a full out distortion attack but holding steady until the last minute and delivering just enough fuzz and down tuned goodness to quench that thirst with a little volume play. And that’s just the first track.  With seven tracks on this platter, song two, “Thirteen,” tears into it full on, like a train goin’ off the tracks, destroying everything in its wake. The vocals have a Down or Pantera feel about them, calling forth the inner Anselmo via “Goddamn Electric” with a down home metallic feel to it, churning out a tsunami of a groove throughout. You can hear every ounce of pain the singer has inside a web of southern blues inspired boogie giving the song a dingy, smoky barroom feel to it. With lyrics like, “Dead man walkin’, dead man walkin’ dead man walkin’ now” you believe him, its real.

“Wrong Turn” slows it down and further explores the Pantera style quality the singer has, which isn’t a bad thing because it works well with the band in a very back to the 70’s-ish, way-out-groove-boogie type manner which incidentally is how the song progresses and eventually culminates.  Track four, “This is mine,” just pummels you right off the bat with its Sabbath style saunter and bad ass ramble. This song is complete attitude and Tyrannosaurus riff. I had this image of a Hells Angels biker type with a hot tattooed chick in cut off daisy dukes riding down the highway, that’s what it sang it to me.

Track five, “I want you,” opens with a monolith of hellish distortion, something you’d imagine getting shat out of a black hole by an angry god. The last two tracks, “Home,” and “Feels like Home” are great examples of what I call “quiet heaviness.” The guitars have that dreamy, Jimmy Page quality to them, ala “No Quarter.”  I love the interplay of the music and the vocals in Godsleep. I think the reason why the record works so well is the musical chemistry which is fantastic. “Thousand Sons of Sleep” is a deep and complex record with a lot to offer. I’m recommending buying this record, the boys in Godsleep are quite good at what they do and this record proves it well.

‘Thousand Sons of Sleep’ is available to buy on CD/DD from BandCamp.

Band info: Facebook | BandCamp