RIFF REWIND (28/10/2012): Samothrace - "Reverence to Stone"

Samothrace 2016

Bio (2012)

 

The band is named after a Greek island that is the home of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, a site of important Hellenic and pre-Hellenic religious ceremonies. The most famous artifact from this site is a large, half-crumbled statue of Nike, the goddess of victory in ancient Greek mythology.

 

Having relocated to Washington, Samothrace originally formed out of Kansas and surrounding areas sometime in 2006. Due to the turmoils every band inevitably encounters, they had a few halts such as line-up changes and the occasional incomplete song, which we get to experience on this LP with the first track 'When We Emerged' having originally appeared on their 2007 demo.

 

Samothrace's lyrical theme revolves around social unrest, political corruption, and the resilience we carry to bounce back from otherwise shitty conditions inherent in life.

The band features highly talented members, past and present, involved with acts such as Oroku, Splatterhouse, The Fucktards, and Short Bus Kids. Their beginnings were as friends within the punk/hardcore scene, which gave rise to this almighty band, Samothrace. 

 

With a live recording of their 2014 performance at The Roadburn Festival issued in April of the same year and some short touring cycles in between, Samothrace remain active as a three piece, but with no new material for 5 years, today we are rewinding the riffs back 5 years to the day when we first review their remarkable second album “Reverance To Stone”. 

 

So if you missed this album first time around or indeed you don’t know this band be sure to remedy your error by checking out our review in full below. 

 

By: Teabag Stallone

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 31/07/2012

Label: 20 Buck Spin

The emotion felt on 'Reverence to Stone' is bleak, yet uplifting, but remains harmonious as a whole. Style, sound, originality and quality are what we can expect. They do not disappoint and this release proves that.

 “Reverence To Stone” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). A Horse of Our Own

2). When We Emerged

The Review:

Samothrace offer a sound with depth and emotion unmatched by most that fall into this category of doom. I was blown away, yet again, by their latest release 'Reverence to Stone', being a fan of this band since their very first full-length, 'Life's Trade', which is also available via 20 Buck Spin. Both are highly recommended, as they don't trail far from their roots, harboring a characteristic style fans love about this band.

This long awaited two-track gem surpassed my expectations, both tracks are flawless and superb in build-up, delivering everything we expect from this band. They leave their original, yet ever-evolving sound untouched and heavy as ever.

'When We Emerged' starts off very atmospheric with the perfect amount of melody, slowly integrating the down-tempo goodness we all love with progressive sludge/doom. The vocals kick in shortly thereafter, dissonant like that of which many funeral doom bands utilize. Then, shit really starts to get heavy with Axler pummelling away to the sound of his mates dishing out a slighly faster delivery of the same melodies.

'A Horse of Our Own' is even more rewarding in depth and really showcases Renate and Brian's skills on guitars, as well as Spinks' harrowing vocals that give a sense of despair and pain. Both tracks seem to drop off in the same atmospheric fashion they began with, but remain intense throughout.

If you are into deliberate build-ups that offer faster instrumental sections which fade out eerily, then this is the album to dive into. The emotion felt on 'Reverence to Stone' is bleak, yet uplifting, but remains harmonious as a whole. I am really looking forward to future releases from Samothrace, as it is truly a band which lives up to everything I've come to love about them.

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Nibiru - "Qaal Babalon"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 22/09/2017

Label: Argonauta Records

Those who have followed Nibiru's past releases recognize the group has a way of creating dauntless music beyond what even the most experimental metal is about. "Qaal Babalon" is its best work to date, though you have to wonder how far the band can take this style next.

"Qaal Babalon" CD//DD track listing:

1. Oroch

2. Faboan

3. Bahal Gah

4. Oxex

The Review:

Standards for EPs versus full-length releases are a perplexing question. Is it a length thing? Number of tracks? And in a genre renown for sprawling cuts, what does it really mean anyway? In the matter of Nibiru, a performer that has its own talent for those long explorations, answers are even harder to come by.

Turin, Italy's Nibiru (not to be mistaken by the Russian metalcore band with the same moniker) are back to wrap up the year with a four-song release clocking in at nearly an hour. These have been an active few years for the trio. Nibiru's 2013 debut, “Caosgon”, was reissued in February 2016, the group offered up a fantastic EP, “Teloch”; and then more recordings in 2015 (“Padmalotus”) and 2014 (“Netrayoni”). Nibiru, in its releases, delivers a compelling brand of doom that melds drone, psychedelica and sludge. Drone and even a hint of funeral doom are perhaps the most prominent sounds in Nibiru's vision, and such may certainly define your love for the band, or it’s new, quite masterful, return in "Qaal Babalon."

The 19-minute "Oroch" begins the release with Ardath's transcendent guitar and vocals. Thick with effects, the instrumentation is supplemented with disharmonious drones. Black metal has its own symphonic offshoot. If drone doom had a related offspring, Nibiru would be one of its great adherents. The song has a tremendously deep and apocalyptic feel to it all. As it chugs to the midway point, Ardath unleashes a ritualistic vocal that comes across as a particularly sinister chant more than a growl in the best, most infernal way. Make no bones about it – even for an ardent doom fan, this is a very punishing start. Yet its conclusion, with its black metal-esque curvature of lyrics, will be incredibly satisfying for those who stay the course.

Through the middle of the recording, "Faboan" and "Bahal Gah" are both the most provocative tracks because they are each going to demonstrate a side of Nibiru you would not expect after the start of "Qaal Babalon." "Faboan" is the most accessible song on the release. It is not only a faithful and compelling doom composition, but there are post-rock and punk influences evident particularly across instrumental bridges. As such, as a second cut, this is a surprising and excellent choice because it builds on the imposing opener with something more comprehensible to the new fan. The next song verges into territory blazed by the opening, while managing to introduce sludge and drone that make it less disorienting than the selection could easily go off into. Praise be to L.C. Chertan on drums, whose work really steadies the song and brings out the potency of its first three minutes. Again, Ardath proves to be an agile vocalist, hitting a lower register and meeting the downtempo mood and effects.

Before you get the idea that Nibiru are now shooting for Mastodon-level acceptability, the band closes with "Oxex," far more temerarious an entry than even the opening. Where to begin? Few extreme music songs ever neatly fit a category. Nowhere is that more pronounced than here. From its ceremonial drum beginnings to its gentle guitar contrasted against the serrated vocals, Nibiru enters into a trancelike state, with even a tambourine. At unexpected moments, doom bass lines pick at your flesh, but the mood refuses to until around the ninth minute. Then, with a hellish whisper, Nibiru goes not into a raging metal romp, but… silence, then drone. And then… things you will just have to listen to find.

Those who have followed Nibiru's past releases recognize the group has a way of creating dauntless music beyond what even the most experimental metal is about. "Qaal Babalon" is its best work to date, though you have to wonder how far the band can take this style next.

"Qaal Babalon" is available here:

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Sator - "Ordeal"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full length

Date Released: 01/09/2017

Label: Argonauta Records

Sator keeps you listening with its true-school doom vibe -- not sludge, not stoner, not psychedelic... straight-ahead doom that you've just got to admire.  "Ordeal" is an exemplary entry into the genre, and one that its fans may undoubtedly value.

"Ordeal" CD//DD track listing:

1. Heartache

2. Ordeal

3. Soulride

4. Sky Burial

5. Funeral Pyres

The Review:

Sator is, at first listen, one of those bands you have to step back from to appreciate. Many performers particularly in metal and genres with a devoted fan base face a similar issue. It is incredibly hard to make something that stands out. The conventions of the music are such that true distinctiveness is rare.

The Genoa, Italy trio debuted in 2015 with a self-titled release, drawing a myriad of comparisons including to Neurosis and early Eyehategod. Those are lofty comparisons, perhaps. However, on "Ordeal," Sator manages to buck expectations with an impressive array of guitar attacks that make the material feel energetic. Sator keeps you listening with its true-school doom vibe -- not sludge, not stoner, not psychedelic... straight-ahead doom that you've just got to admire.

"Heartache" opens the release and it is, unsurprisingly, one of the strongest tracks. With a deep bass and drum steering the cut and a titanic guitar riff in the mix, Sator make a good first impression. The vocals are rattling with distortion, which only rachets up the fearful aesthetic. This segues into the title track. The band wrings out of these low notes and turgid bass fixtures a song that, like many songs on the album, offers a story you have to listen for a second time. Part of that is just its atypical vision for arrangement. "Soulride" continues the listening journey and proves a worthy successor. Its start is positively massive in terms of chords, and Sator doesn't let up.

The vocal effects detract at times from the overall arrangement. On lessser recordings, such effects are done to mask deficiencies in range and tonality. You don't walk away with that impression here. Instead the production seems carefully chosen to mesh with the mood of "Ordeal." And what a dense and down mood it is. Every song's tempo gets slower, muddier and more despairing as the record continues. How songs are organized and the progression of feeling that comes with it is one of Sator's strongest points on the album. Tracks get more and more crushing as time moves on, and the result is so very satisfying.

The album closes with "Funeral Pyres," a 15-minute journey that is a smashing closer. While perhaps overlong -- the song would be equally good with 2-4 minutes trimmed away -- the group's willingness to see its concepts through, even when it might be easier to slice up something more accessible, is demonstrative of its commitment to a sincerely doom album. Throughout its peaks and valleys, the final song proves to be a showcase of Sator's best qualities and maybe areas of improvement. Nevertheless "Ordeal" is an exemplary entry into the genre, and one that its fans may undoubtedly value.

"Ordeal" is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

REVIEW: Dutchguts / Chained to the Dead – Split [EP]

By: Mark Ambrose


Album Type: EP

Date Released: 01/09/2017

Label: Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

“Dutchguts / Chained to the Dead” Split CD//DD track listing

1). Dutchguts – “Bad Batch”

2). Dutchguts – “Happy Trails to Hell”

3). Dutchguts – “Snake Piss”

4). Chained to the Dead – “The Ballad of the Melting Hobos”

5). Chained to the Dead – “The Ones That Walk Away”

6). Chained to the Dead – “Beast from the East”

The Review

While I love the complex shit out there – the prog-influenced, hyper-hyphenate blackened genre mixers – a powerful double dose of filth can be just as transcendent as “challenging” grand statement albums.  Case in point: the split EP by sludge punkers Dutchguts and death maniacs Chained to the Dead.  Dutchguts slam out a trio of tunes that serve as the perfect soundtrack to a night of bad decisions that get this, actually packs some bluesy menace into those fuzzy tones.  Sure they recall Eyehategod and Motorhead but they also could be a gone to seed ZZ Top (that good, early shit) jamming on Black Sabbath.  They play headbanging riff songs, with scattered shout along choruses, until the raucous doomy closer, “Snake Piss”.  Slowing to an absolute crawl, the dual guitars of Gonzalez and Galarraga are all swagger and snarl, while the rhythm section of Rivas and Cerri easily shifts between hardcore aggression and swinging bar band rock.  I want a whole slab of this stuff, though I worry my liver may not take it.

Chained to the Dead, meanwhile, serve up some rotten-to-the-bone, meat and potatoes death metal.  You know you’re dealing with true splatter fetishists when your song opens with a Street Trash sample that actually serves the putrid subject matter.  Guitarist Stephen Rasczyk goes real old school with his riffing: no squealing, chaotic leads, just memorable hooks that make you want to get in the mosh and bleed all over someone.  John-Paul Dal Pan is well-served in the production, as his hefty bass tone is stomach turning on “Beast from the East”.  Ott, meanwhile, is an enviable metal drummer, whose brutality and proficiency are matched by his restraint – never overplaying but never boring.  Vocalist Rocco Martone may have one of the most violent cadences in death metal.  Each syllable sounds like he’s rasping out a liter of blood and clotted guts, which goes perfectly with the overall horror aesthetic.  Most importantly, like all the other elements of the group, he makes a simple style, free of effects or acrobatics, wholly his own.  Each of Chained to the Dead’s three cuts is memorable as an infected scar – you’ll keep returning to these wounds despite your revulsion, and even come to perversely enjoy your self-mortification.

“Dutchguts / Chained to the Dead” is available here

Band info: Dutchguts || Chained to the Dead

FOR THOSE ABOOT TO ROCK: Riffs of Canada with Big|Brave (Montreal, Québec)

By: Mark Tremblay

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 15/09/2017

Label: Southern Lord Records

This three song magnum opus is a sonic journey through the unexpected nuances in heavy music.  “Ardour” is Big|Brave fully realized and fully formed. In a genre full of chaotic noise, the refreshing wave of heaviness provided by Big|Brave rises to the top.

“Ardor” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Sound

2). Lull

3). Borer

The Review:

Big|Brave are the hardest band to categorize and define in heavy music. Their latest offering, “Ardor”, is equal parts calming and cathartic. This three song magnum opus is a sonic journey through the unexpected nuances in heavy music. “Ardor” opens with the serene crusher “Sound”. Ironically, it is the silent pauses within the song that give the piece its weight and impact. Big|Brave have this ability to make every note count and matter, something that many bands could take note of.

“Lull” is the perfect bridge between the albums opener and closer. Robin Wattie vocals are extremely raw and powerful. The tonal qualities of her voice feel Like Big|Brave at their most honest and vulnerable. The album ends with an absolute sludge banger “Borer”, the heaviest track in the Big|Brave canon. By the songs end, the listener is being drowned in these extremely heavy chords that have this calming effect.

“Ardor” is Big|Brave fully realized and fully formed. In a genre full of chaotic noise, the refreshing wave of heaviness provided by Big|Brave rises to the top.

“Ardor” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

REVIEW: Glacial Tomb - "Cognitive Erosion" [EP]

By: Chris Bull


Album Type: EP

Date Released: 11/04/2017

Label: Old Cathedral Cassettes

From the opening drum fill that leads to some face ripping riffage of 'Black Hole, White Teeth' all the way through to the creeping, crescendo  of 'Burial Shroud', it's a tour-de-force of extreme music.

“Cognitive Erosion” CS//DD track listing:

1). Black Hole White Teeth

2). Of Flesh And Worship

3). Entropic Decay

4). Burial Shroud

The Review:

To start with the most random pop culture reference here; do you remember the short lived WCW wrestler Glacier? He was a complete Sub Zero (of Mortal Kombat fame [yep, that's a 2nd pop culture reference]) rip off. He was hyped, full of promise and ultimately failed to deliver. 'Cognitive Erosion' from Denver's Glacial Tomb is the polar opposite (excuse the pun); it's no bark and all bite.

The 4 tracks on this EP are chocked full of scathing, blistering, HM-2 worship and while crusty grind is the meat and potatoes, Glacial Tomb season the tracks with some crushing sludge/doom when the time is right.

From the opening drum fill that leads to some face ripping riffage of 'Black Hole, White Teeth' all the way through to the creeping, crescendo  of 'Burial Shroud', it's a tour-de-force of extreme music. Sure, the guitar sound suffers from an almost digital sound, but this is enough of an appetite whetting to have me hungry for a full length. I'd love to hear these guys let loose on an analogue studio; the results would undoubtedly double the effects of global warming.

“Cognitive Erosion” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Cities of Mars - "Temporal Rifts"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 29/09/2017

Label: Argonauta Records

Cities of Mars' unique songwriting and evolving musicianship have much to offer to the doom scene

 

"Temporal Rifts" CD//DD//LP track listing

1. Doors of Dark Matter Pt 1: Barriers

2. Envoy of Murder

3. Gula, a Bitter Embrace

4. Children Of The Red Sea

5. Caverns Alive!

The Review:

Sweden's Cities of Mars may not initially jump out as you as you first listen. As a doom trio mixing in heavy psychedelic overtones and even classic metal melodies in the spirit of Black Sabbath or Uriah Heap, you might just lose them in the traffic of artists traveling similar roads. However, all credit to the band and its label, ever a connoisseur of original musicians, with this self-awareness, and for shaping a concept from start to finish.

Dubbing itself "a heavy band with an integrated storyline," Cities of Mars makes its proper debut this year with "Temporal Rifts," coming after its 2016 EP, "Celestial Mistress," and two tracks in 2015. However, its collection is all based on the same concept, a broad and ancient conspiracy that is unearthed by Russian KGB cosmonaut Nadia, who lands on the planet Mars as part of a covert mission in 1971. With an assist from Monolord's Esben Willems on production, Cities of Mars offer promise at an invigorating premiere.

Cities of Mars has gotten comparisons to the band Sleep at points for good reason. Their distorted, stoner-esque orchestration and other flourishes may spark visions of that San Jose trio. Still, Cities of Mars presents a few areas of its own to be excited about.

First and foremost, it is storytelling. You'll have some quick catching up to do if you are not familiar with the tale, because Cities of Mars pitches you right in. Vocalists  Christoffer Norén and Danne Palm together do a respectable job at conveying affairs, which, as you can guess, get fantastical and spaced out. "Envoy of Murder" is a good instance of this. Johan Küchler's drums lead the way as the story comes down to lyrics that feel mirthless in emotion. But in "Gula, a Bitter Embrace," there is a growing determination, as the trio strike a thicker and faster doom rhythm. The arrangement on "Gula" is solid, but feels like it could benefit by being just a bit more compact. However, the eight-minute "Children Of The Red Sea" following it manages a sublime trance into something that feels like truly memorable doom. Gentler chords grow insistent, as the bass swells and vocals float in an otherworldly way against the guitar strings caging it. The composition here harkens somewhat to Below the Sun's spectacular summer release, but Cities of Mars feels bold in its own way.

The album closes with the psychedelic "Caverns Alive!" It follows the same footprint of some other cuts – lighter open, churning build – and yet the band keeps it sounding fresh. Such, however, might be the biggest question for Cities of Mars. Where does a band whose name and music come from a single concept go after this? Space is, of course, infinite. And as you will come to appreciate, Cities of Mars' unique songwriting and evolving musicianship have much to offer to the doom scene. Without giving away the story, fans will have to simply await to which planet this innately discrepant act flies the next light year.

"Temporal Rifts" is available here:

Band info: bandcamp || facebook