ALBUM REVIEW: Famyne, "II: The Ground Below"

 By: Richard Maw
 
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 13/05/2022
Label: Svart Records

 
“II: The Ground Below” CD//DD//LP track listing
 
1). Defeated
2). Solid Earth
3). Gone
4). A Submarine
5). Babylon
6). Once More
7). The Ai
8). For My Sins
 
The Review:
 
Famyne remain a bright hope for UK doom, getting brighter. Their debut was dark, immense, and unique in all the right ways, so what does their sophomore release hold?! Well, it may or may not be what the band sound like ‘right now’ due to it being recorded over a year ago in the dark days of the pandemic… but it certainly sounds fresh, vital, and full of youthful passion.

Opener “Defeated” (4.45) fairly growls out of the speakers; it’s huge and crushing with an organic drum sound, swirling vocal effects and no small amount of sturm and drang to the lyrics. It’s epic without being melodramatic or camp. It’s heavy without being hard to listen to (like some sludge often is, for instance).

Yes, there are shades of Count Raven, early Paradise Lost and so forth but the influences don’t directly inform the band’s presentation. Famyne are very much their own thing and that is why they are so exciting to listen to. “Solid Earth” (5.22) completes the opening one two punch combination with a meaty right hand that lands appropriately solidly right on the jaw. The drum sound is great; massive and muscular, the guitars have a good earthy tone to them with the mix well presented. Lyrically, the words are open to interpretation- if you fancy a song about astral projection… this could be it. Or it could be about much more introspective themes. Up to you.

The vocals of Tom Vane are essentially another instrument for Famyne to use. They are multi-dimensional, multi-tracked here and there and bring a healthy dose of melody and tonal variety to the album. Of the great bands, they all have unique vocalists; whether they be technically great or just have a certain timbre or sound that makes them stand out (Ozzy, Dio, Dickinson, Di’Anno, Liebling, Wino, Reagers etc.). It’s a more restrained type of track and a left field choice for the third song. Naturally, it gets louder as it builds and contains some nice lead work which pushes Vane’s vocals to soaring new heights. The use of the quiet/loud dynamic forms a motif- or frame- for the songs and while that may be an old trick, it’s still one of the best in the book.

“Gone” (5.40) is a moodier beast with clean guitar and dynamic drums combined with an almost shoegaze type ethereal feel. The band have conjured up this kind of vibe before, but this is done effectively and deftly.

“A Submarine” (7.27) represents the mid-point epic of the record and again it’s quite restrained to start. It’s noticeable that the record doesn’t rely on riffs alone- by any means- instead it creates moods and soundscapes for an epic feel. There are synths/keys present in the mix and the band seem to be exploring different shades in a rather pastoral way (appropriate, considering their Canterbury location). Dynamics are to the fore again, here. This is not your standard doom album.

“Babylon” (6.48) is unremittingly dark. While it may feature varying dynamics, it is pitch black in tone and outlook- musically and lyrically. The central riff is a good one; heavy as lead and just as poisonous. The guitars and bass weave nicely together here and the tempos shift a little too- this is a good thing as doom albums are all too often single paced, leading to one track melding into another when listening through a whole album. Again, the lead work down the back stretch is rather good- another nice dimension to the band.

“Once More” (4.47) may be a shorter track- but it retains the central motifs of the record; dynamics, tempo shifts, dark melody and emotive vocals. All the instrumentation here is excellent with the guitars working together really well and the rhythm section solid and adventurous at the same time. It’s a well-crafted track with enough of a hook to stand out.

“The Ai” (4.04) is another short sharp shock; there is a lot of weight here. One of the best riffs on the record opens proceedings and the band keep the weight on the bar from thereon. The work around the kit here is particularly good; off kilter fills and snare shots, grace notes, double pedal work- good variety and ideas. For me, this is one of the bets tracks on the album. Nice bass tone, too.

“For My Sins” (4.59) finishes the record in some style. It’s pulsing, urgent and paranoid. In fact, it’s a good summary of a certain type of doom; it’s slow but doesn’t drag. It’s heavy but listenable- before I get too paradoxical, suffice it to say that this is a mighty distillation of the band’s sound inside of five minutes. With the first half of the record being longer and the subtle differences in lyrical and musical approaches, I’d be tempted to speculate that the band were taking a leaf out of The Stranglers book on their third Black and White album- a sublime and innovative record that was an album of two halves in terms of approach and content… or that could be way off the mark.

All told, this is a superb album. It’s dark, epic, dynamic and doleful in equal measure and represents progression of the band’s unique sound without being a departure. For a second album this is really all any fan could ask for. In terms of the present and future of UK doom: this is it. It’s here. If your life is chaos and you feel you have no control over it, or complacency and the hidden hand just seems to void your goals… this is the band for you, as you will find much that resonates here.

“II: The Ground Below” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: 40 Watt Sun, "Perfect Light"

By: Richard Maw
 
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 21/01/2022
Label: Svart Records

 

“Perfect Light” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Reveal
2). Behind My Eyes
3). Until
4). Colours
5). The Spaces in Between
6). Raise Me Up
7). A Thousand Miles
8). Closure

The Review:

40 Watt Sun have made quite a lovely record here. Not the standard opening for a review on THE SLUDGELORD, but there you go. This is acoustic melancholia. Main man Patrick Walker is ably assisted by a few others- notably Roland Scriver of London doomsters Serpent Venom- but really this is his vision and these are his songs.

There are eight tracks here and they are long. They are mellow. They are sombre. There is only one piece below five minutes and everything else runs well beyond that with sparse arrangements, understated vocals, and some excellent accompanying instrumentation (drums, strings, piano etc.).

To be clear this is not a metal album at all- it is emotionally heavy, not necessarily musically heavy. Going through individual tracks here seems a little redundant- this is a mood piece, and I can't really pick stand outs amongst what is uniformly excellent.

If you fancy a change of pace and fancy digging a little deeper into the human condition, perhaps with a good bottle of whisky, then this is absolutely an album to check out. If you are looking for reference points, I'd say this is somewhere between a sparse Nick Cave record and a Roy Harper one; the folk-ish sounds and references fit, but this its own beast. It's lovingly crafted and very moving.

“Perfect Light” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Green Lung, "Black Harvest"

 By: Richard Maw
 
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 22/10/2021
Label: Svart Records
 

“Black Harvest” CD//DD//LP track listing:

 
1. The Harrowing
2. Old Gods
3. Leaders of the Blind
4. Reaper's Scythe
5. Graveyard Sun
6. Black Harvest
7. Upon the Altar
8. You Bear the Mark
9. Doomsayer
10. Born to a Dying World
 
The Review:
 
What do have here?! Well, it appears that we have a band to pin our hopes on. Green Lung have been super active with two albums in as many years. They bring doom, folk, 70s rock and paganism together in a rather heady brew. If the debut “Woodland Rites” was the prototype, this is the finished article. It does everything that the 2019 release did, but more powerfully and with greater clarity.
 
I've been slow off the mark to review this one; I should have been quicker as the band have created a real buzz. They are THE new band on the block and one listen to this LP will let you know why. Lots of references to the old religion, the stones, Woden and fire- and that is just the first two tracks.  “The Harrowing” sets the tone- mystical and magical, ethereal... “Old Gods” is a grooving beast. Equal parts Sabbath and Uriah Heep; mighty riffs, mighty organ work.
 
This record is most definitely for fans of: Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple and onwards into the modern era of Rise Above Records roster (Orange Goblin, Witchcraft, Electric Wizard) and the other current great English rock band, Wytch Hazel.
 
This album is nothing less than a rejuvenation of the underground heavy rock scene. It's sorely needed, as the halcyon years of 2004 to 2010 when Witchcraft and Orange Goblin were riding high at packed out gigs in London are now a long time ago. After that opening one-two punch combination, it's very much what you'd expect; weighty heavy rock with all the right influences in place.
 
Green Lung are gaining some serious traction with all the cool festival slots booked and the crowds waiting for them- even if they had to cancel their appearance at Damnation Festival recently. It's clear that they are going somewhere with their esoteric atmospheres and swirling organ work coupled with varied tempos and a noteworthy weighty production.
 
There are ten tracks here, but the atmosphere is intact throughout and the overall vibe will certainly invoke Stone Henge (in a good way) stone circles (in a general way) and the folklore of the British Isles when the listener plays the album. I note that the band have taken inspiration from the same book that Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull utilised for the seminal “Songs From The Wood” album and it shows here with much drama about graveyard suns, altars, bearing marks and so forth.
 
It's hard to pick stand out tracks as this is all so uniformly good. The lead work throughout is excellent and each of the songs manages to be part of a cohesive whole while maintaining its own identity. 
 
If you wanted a flavour of the band, you could just play “Reaper's Scythe” or “Graveyard Sun”, but really you could pick any track and get a decent idea. Yep, this London band are going places- climb on board now before it's too late and you arrive only in time for the destination. I can't really recommend this record highly enough. Join them. Join me. Welcome to the coven.
 
“Black Harvest” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Witch Mountain, "Witch Mountain"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 25/05/2018

Label: Svart Records

The record can most certainly be filed amongst Witch Mountain's best and will slot right into the collections of doom heads alongside The Wounded Kings, Electric Wizard, Cathedral, Castle and so on. This is slow and bluesy doom of the finest vintage with a vocalist who is fantastic.

“Witch Mountain” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Midnight

2). Mechanical World

3). Burn You Down

4). Hellfire

5). Nighthawk

The Review:

A doom institution of the last twenty years, Witch Mountain are back with their first full length post Uta Plotkin's departure. Kayla Dixon has stepped up to the mic and she absolutely delivers a vocal tour de force on this low, slow record. The bass is as deep as a mine shaft (supplied by another new addition to the line up- Justin Brown) and the whole sound consists of self assured performances alongside a very big sound.

Whether you will like this album depends entirely on your liking of doom; if you like Sabbath, you will probably like this. Likewise, if you like Sleep... ditto. Hell, even those at the more sludge end of the doom spectrum will find much to enjoy here. Dixon employs a ferocious growl at times to go with her crystal clear soulful vocals (double tracked for effect at times) which should appeal to all sides of the doom coin.

It's not perfect- the pace is uniformly slow and the fact that there are only five tracks here might irk some listeners- even if track five edges towards the fifteen minute mark! Opener “Midnight” tells you much of what you  need to know about the new record; it's weighty and atmospheric in equal measure, while utilising a lot of what is best about the genre in terms of sound and themes. From there, “Mechanical World” successfully captures the right mood and the record is starting to take firm form.

The sound is darker for “Burn You Down” and the pace is no quicker. “Hellfire” offers up a two and a half minute interlude of acoustic and folksy melancholy which acts as the perfect bridge to what is the grand finale.

Clearly, the closing “Nighthawk” is the heavy artillery here; a sprawling epic of huge proportions- but the rest of the album fits together perfectly and the five tracks absolutely work as a whole piece. The record can most certainly be filed amongst Witch Mountain's best and will slot right into the collections of doom heads alongside The Wounded Kings, Electric Wizard, Cathedral, Castle and so on. This is slow and bluesy doom of the finest vintage with a vocalist who is fantastic.

“Witch Mountain” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Hallatar - "No Stars Upon The Bridge"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full length

Date Released: 20/10/2017

Label: Svart Records

"No Stars Upon The Bridge" CD//DD//LP track listing

1. Mirrors

2. Raven's Song 

3. Melt

4. My Mistake (with Heike Langhans)          

5. Pieces

6. Severed Eyes

7. The Maze

8. Spiral Gate

9. Dreams Burn Down (with Aleah Starbridge)

The Review:

Stunning art can at many turns be informed by loss. Perhaps it is the vulnerability or universality of such experiences that brings us in as an audience. Maybe it is because the artist's stories mirror our own. Their memories help us grieve. Sometimes they aid us in coming to grips with our own recollections and histories. Hurt is something each one of us experiences. It is thus no secret that music, a unifier in its own right, can encourage us to heal.

Death has informed a number of musical releases in 2017. Bell Witch is most prominent among those bands that have lost members. For acts like Mount Eerie, core performers have seen the departures of loved ones shape the direction of their music. Finland's Hallatar join these tragic ranks. Swallow the Sun and Trees of Eternity principal Juha Raivio launched Hallatar following the death of partner and Swallow the Sun vocalist Aleah Starbridge from cancer last April. "No Stars Upon the Bridge" is the resultant album, which sees Raivio joined by HIM's Gas Lipstick and Tomi Joutsen of Amorphis in a cathartic and revealing nine songs.

However, do not expect ballads out of "No Stars Upon the Bridge.

The death/doom experiment in Hallatar is instead a tightly wound emotional trek. Raivio has stated in interviews that the albums lyrics were written shortly after Starbridge's death, with a further commitment not to edit or alter the feelings expressed on the days the songs were composed. "Mirrors" opens as a pained flare of energy. The mix of spoken and growled vocals continues on "Melt," as Raivio lays bare his feelings and searching for meaning amidst the anguish. Colored against the real-life backdrop, it is impossible for the music not to have a weight that goes beyond what we usually expect from the music.

Hallatar offers a few particularly important parts of the performance. Heike Langhans of Draconian provides a feature on "My Mistake" that will surprise you. The haunting atmosphere in "The Maze" makes this one of the album's best songs. At once menacing and dejected, Hallatar conveys distress and heartache in a despairing struggle. "Raven's Gate" and "Spiral Gate" offer poetry that connects the music. And finally, "Dreams Burn Down," the climax, weaves Raivio's inconsolable lyrics with the posthumous singing of Starbridge in what is a heavyhearted song lifted up by the soaring tones. In all, "No Stars Upon The Bridge" is a fitting goodbye that is not wholly a goodbye.

"No Stars Upon The Bridge" is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

REVIEW: Witchthroat Serpent - "Striped Dragon" (EP)

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: 7”

Date Released: 16/06/2017

Label: Svart Records

“Striped Dragon” DD//7” track listing:

1). Striped Dragon

2). No Way to Escape

The Review:

Following up debut “Sang - Dragon” with this two track EP is a smart move- riffs pound, organs swirl, vocals wail... business as usual for these French doomers!

A-side “Striped Dragon is a weighty and psychedelic excursion into the realms of Electric Wizard but the band are sleeker and more streamlined. Both tracks come in almost at the six minute mark with lots of overdrive and lots of retro atmosphere.

“No Way To Escape” is just as heavy, but perhaps even more driving in sound. Simply put, if you heard the debut and follow up “Sang-Dragon” then you know what to expect here. Essentially the doom version of Motorhead, I am amazed that the band have not yet written a song called Born Toulouse... but there is still time. This is real fuzzed up doom. Vive Le Serpent!

“Striped Dragon” is available on vinyl here and digitally here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

FFO: Electric Wizard, Windhand, Sleep, Cough

ALBUM REVIEW: Hymn - "Perish"

By: Josh Nichols

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 17/02/2017

Label: Svart Records

“Perish” delivers a dense and grim dose of sludge doom and post metal that creates an atmosphere of dread that frequently erupts in a variety of subtle and different ways.  The entire album is full of gripping tension and visceral despair, muscular and somber, aching weight and gut punching physicality.  It’s an excellent debut from two very talented individuals.”

“Perish” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1.Ritual

2.Rise

3.Serpent

4.Hollow

5.Spectre

6.Perish

The Review:

On February 17^th, Svart Records will release “Perish”, the debut full length from Hymn, hailing from Oslo, Norway. “Perish” delivers a dense and grim dose of sludge doom and post metal that creates an atmosphere of dread that frequently erupts in a variety of subtle and different ways. Hymn are adept at creating tension while never leaving the listener on the rack for too long. I know some may like being left on the rack, but I was really impressed with their ability to alter the beast they create, be it by simple tempo and texture or genre shifting. No small task for a two man operation, or what Svart calls the four handed Norwegian beast.

The beast is comprised of guitarist/bassist/vocalist Ole Rokseth and drummer Markus Støle. Both have labored for several years in other projects.  Namely Tombstones and Buckaduzz.  Their previous efforts have ranged from psychedelic stoner to jammy riff heavy doom.  The main difference I’m hearing with Hymn is the level of ferocity and the fact that instead of using riffs to change it up, they are using anxiety. You wouldn’t guess from the dark and all to brief drone opener, “Ritual”, just what is in store for you.

Perhaps that’s the point.  After less than two minutes, the drone gives way to the epic twelve minute “Rise”. A plodding heavy struggle between the insistent wailing vocals and the rhythm section that won’t be rushed.  They battle throughout, sluggishly slowing and adamantly picking back up, but never too much. A total breakdown in the middle, ala Neurosis, leads back into the anguished battle.  By the end, you think you have this band pegged, but you would be wrong.

The dirge doom of “Rise” is replaced by the brutal intensity of “Serpent”.  The choppy buzzsaw riff and cymbal wash now battle for supremacy with vocals that reach next level anger. Personally, they bring to mind Ben Verellen from Helms Alee, but name your own strident wailer. The effect is brilliant.  The landscape totally changed.  It’s like a tank commander roaring over the engines at his crew in a pitched battle. “Hollow” dials it down a touch while retaining the battlefield atmosphere.  Perhaps post battle.  It’s desperate and anguished with wonderful textural shifts on guitar and then a complete vocal change around the midway.  Gone is the roar, replaced by a sinister snear.  Its brief and a great reset before a crippling break down on the back half.

It’s at this point that you’re finally understanding that this bands strength is in keeping you guessing. If you guessed “Spectre” would turn into a wall of sound like waves of menacing dread you can’t escape from, then well done. The finale and title track, “Perish” really steers out of the doom waters and headlong back into Neurosis-esque post metal.  This doesn’t make it any more predictable.  In fact, if you’ve listened to metal in the last 30 years, that tells just how unpredictable it is. Much like the entire album full of gripping tension and visceral despair, muscular and somber, aching weight and gut punching physicality.  It’s an excellent debut from two very talented individuals.

“Perish” is available to preorder/buy here

Band info: facebook | bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Bathsheba - "Servus"

By: Ben Fitts

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 24/02/2017

Label: Svart Records

The biggest strength of the album is its tactful and haunting use of atmosphere. This is achieved through the skilful use of dynamic contrast, organically unfolding transitions and changes in the timbre of the music, particularly in the playing of guitarist Dwight Goossens.  Tracks such as “Manifest” and “Demon” see Goossens change from chilling, ambient clean tones to rich, roaring fuzz tones that could satisfy even the hardest to please doom fans.

“Servus” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Conjuration Of Fire
2. Ain Soph
3. Manifest
4. Demon 13
5. The Sleepless Gods
6. I, At The End Of Everything

The Review:

It’s a very difficult feat to create something that is both bleak and immense, sparse yet enveloping. But that is exactly what Belgian doom quartet Bathsheba achieve on their debut full-length, “Servus”. Crawling tempos, smokey guitar tones, airily sinister vocals and thundering atmosphere define this album. One listen conjures images of ancient rituals performed by full moonlight, rotting, dusty tomes and a time when the world was still young, but so much darker.

The album’s opening track, “Of Fire” rumbles like a down-tuned earthquake, with an ominous but assuaging vocal line floating over the roar of the instruments. The most stoner-friendly track on the album, “Of Fire” builds to a climax of occult riffing and evil galore. “Servus” finds itself at its most blackened and fast-paced at the start of the next track, “Ain Soph”. However, at about a minute in, the track slows down to Bathsheba’s familiar tortoise pace as vocals significantly rougher than those found at the start of “Of Fire” join the clamour, and the ensemble is eventually joined by a surprisingly tasteful, spaced out saxophone.

 “Manifest” is the album’s longest number, and it spends over ten and a half minutes alternately wandering the cosmos and grooving on the most head banging, feel-good (relatively speaking) riffs to be found on the entire album. Following this lengthy, psychedelic exploration is what is perhaps the album’s standout track “Demon”. The track is loaded with malicious earworms of guitar riffs. These are the kind of doom riffs that are nothing but pure evil and embed themselves in your mind, the way an infectious pop song would.

The perfect soundtrack to performing Pagan magic appears on the following track, “The Sleepless Gods”. Ominous, surreal and ancient, “The Sleepless Gods” trudges through ringing fuzz and skin-crawling vocals, building to an aggressive groove, before returning to the track’s original mood for its conclusion. The album ends on the aptly named track, “I, At The End Of Everything”. Beginning like a bubbling cauldron, the track opens with bad dream atmospheres that gradually swell in intensity, building to the point of blood-curdling evil.

The biggest strength of the album is its tactful and haunting use of atmosphere. This is achieved through the skilful use of dynamic contrast, organically unfolding transitions and changes in the timbre of the music, particularly in the playing of guitarist Dwight Goossens.  Tracks such as “Manifest” and “Demon” see Goossens change from chilling, ambient clean tones to rich, roaring fuzz tones that could satisfy even the hardest to please doom fans. This diversity is matched in Michelle Nocon’s vocals, as she effortlessly navigates from ominous, witchy earcandy to raspy, hellish snarls, perhaps best exemplified on the album’s nearly eight and a half minute long closing track, “I, At The End Of Everything”.

“Servus” is available to buy/preorder here

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

FFO: Serpentcult, Sardonis, Monarch, Death Penalty

ALBUM REVIEW: Tombstoned - "II"

By Theron Moore

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 22/04/2016

Label: Svart Records

Tombstoned works.  It’s unlike anything I’ve heard in a while but it’s catchy and it’ll stick in your head.  It’s doom but a different kind of doom I’m used to listening to.  Give it a listen, I think you’ll enjoy it.

“II” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Pretending to Live
2. Brainwashed Since Birth
3. Time Travels
4. And I Told You
5. Haven’t We Seen All This Before
6. You Can Always Close Your Eyes
7. Remedies

The Review:

I’ll be honest with you.  I had to listen to this record several times to really get the feel for this band.  Musically I like what they’re delivering.  But the vocals I couldn’t figure out.  As strange as it may seem I heard influences like The Cure as well as Trouble, Candlemass and Cirith Ungol coming through.  I couldn’t figure out if I liked the vox on this record or not but they finally grew on me.  I think Tombstoned is best described as early 80’s straight doom, straight fuzz. 

“Brainwashed Since Birth” should’ve been the record’s opening track but I’m not complaining, I dug the vibe of “Pretending to Live” which sounds like a fusion between 80’s era Cure and the band Trouble.  Weird, right?  But it works. 

Tombstoned aren’t heavy in the same vein as Holy Serpent, or Sleep or Cathedral but more in line with, say, Trouble meets The Cure meets Candlemass.  Clear as mud?  But it works.  “Time Travels,” track three, picks up where “Brainwashed Since Birth” left off and continues this journey of cosmic strangeness.  Track four, “And I Told You,” is a cool little gem of heavy Cirith Ungol inspired madness.  That’s where the aforementioned early 80’s doom inspiration was kinda apparent. 

One of the best songs on this record is “Haven’t We Seen All This Before” that features, of all things, a Smashing Pumpkins inspired guitar groove combined with a traditional Trouble inspired doom breakdown.  But, damn if it doesn’t jam.   Look, without going into the rest of the songs I can tell you this.  Tombstoned works.  It’s unlike anything I’ve heard in a while but it’s catchy and it’ll stick in your head.  It’s doom but a different kind of doom I’m used to listening to.  Give it a listen, I think you’ll enjoy it.

“II” is available here

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: 40 Watt Sun - “Wider than the Sky”

By: TJ Kliebhan

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 14/10/2016
Label: Providence Records |
Svart Records

Although the record may find itself on the fringes of metal, the empathetic feelings Walker shares over soaring ten minute tracks should cause anyone who has felt anything before to reflect in some meaningful way. “Wider than the Sky” challenges its listeners to reflect for themselves, because after all it’s important to remember where one stands. 40 Watt Sun’s latest record is likely to find itself among the best records released this year.

“Wider than the Sky” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Stages
2). Beyond You
3). Another Room
4). Pictures
5). Craven Road
6). Marazion

The Review:

Patrick Walker enjoys his privacy. It’s no secret that the English musician tends to keep a low profile, which makes any news coming from him significant to his fans. In 2016, Walker has announced a one day performance at Roadburn festival where he will be reuniting Warning to play the “Watching from a Distance” in its entirety. Warning has been considered seminal in the revival of traditional doom metal, but do not put that genre label on what Walker does now as 40 Watt Sun.

Walker began 40 Watt Sun to address his growth as a musician and songwriter while moving on from the music he created as a young man. This year Walker finally announced a follow-up record for 40 Watt Sun marking 2016 as an exciting year for fans who have endured long periods of silence over the past three years. Label issues delayed the release of “Wider than the Sky” until now, marking the group’s first record in five years coming by way of their own Providence Records label. A Patrick Walker release has never sounded more polished or emotionally devastating than on “Wider than the Sky”.

On 40 Watt Sun’s sophomore effort, the band creates an air of maturity while Walker’s baritone pleading vocal wrestles with past relationships, meaningful physical places in his life, and the passing of time. The album is lyrically crushing, and finds Walker taking the least abstract approach to songwriting in his career.

The massive opening track “Stages” clocks in at over sixteen minutes and features chilling lines such as, “the heart of the matter that both of us can’t hide…I’m feeling everything like nothing in my life.” Walker has always touted that his lyrics are simply what he experiences. The drama that his voice as well as the slow, rhythmic delivery are fitting for this incredibly genuine collection of words. Walker’s chosen canvas for these ubiquitous tales is around ten minutes, but he proves he is able to deliver equally traumatic words on the short final track “Marazion”. The track finds Walker longing for the coastal town while aching, “if I could just be strong enough, but I don’t want to face it.”

While Walker can come off as a dreary character, these six tracks offer a diverse array of subjects that come with his unique perspective on, with the only constant from track to track being the level of personal intimacy that Walker brings to each song.

Musically, this is 40 Watt Sun’s cleanest record. The crushing atmosphere and distortion that Warning created was severely scaled back on 40 Watt Sun’s first record “The Inside Room.” Indeed “Wider than the Sky” takes the cleaner tones even further. This is still very much a guitar driven record and the pacing is similar to past releases in the Walker canon, but everything sounds more refined. This new record sounds as if it will seamlessly transition to the solo acoustic shows that Patrick Walker frequently performs. Many of the these tracks feature a sound for the opening couple minutes that slowly gets expanded upon by incorporating more instruments or feature a slight change in pace with a new riff. The tracks unfold in subtle ways and brilliantly derive significance out of minimalism. “Another Room” and “Craven Road” are perfect examples of how Walker is a master of maximizing the power of a shift in pace using a similar melody and tone without introducing numerous new instruments to the fold.

“Wider than the Sky” demonstrates that 40 Watt Sun is not dedicated to any sound or existing to satisfy the clamors of Doom metal fans. The band has aged and refused to compromise their vision, and in the process has created a release which could be considered as one Patrick Walker’s best. Although the record may find itself on the fringes of metal, the empathetic feelings Walker shares over soaring ten minute tracks should cause anyone who has felt anything before to reflect in some meaningful way. “Wider than the Sky” challenges its listeners to reflect for themselves, because after all it’s important to remember where one stands. 40 Watt Sun’s latest record is likely to find itself among the best records released this year.

“Wider Than the Sky” is available here

Band info: facebook