Doom Around The World
Episode 1.4
Trapped in the middle of a presidential campaign which becomes more nauseating by the hour, this month I offer you reprieve, my dear doomers and stoners (or should I say “bad hombres”?). And unlike the false dichotomy presented to voters, we have some real choices before us today. Join me now, as we explore….and DOOOOOOOM)))))) Around the World~!
Australia
Damning doom by OHM RUNE gives us our launch, and what a lift-off it is. The riff that opens is instantly likeable and will be a recurring track in your playlist. If you’ve ever wondered, “What if Cobra Commander had started a band?” Ohm Rune is your answer. Alex’s venomous vocals are a clear standout on this release, the Perth duo’s debut on Arrest Records. ‘Star Destroyer-Adrift" was recorded/mixed by Sam Ford at Tone City Recording Studio in Perth and mastered by Brad Boatright at Portland’s Audiosiege. Good shit, y'all.
Austria
A doom band can easily subsist on the power of its own riffs, but there are times when the vocals completely set it apart. We’re used to epic singing, but nothing has prepared you for the gravelly, pitched-low-as-a-snake-to-the-ground sound of Philipp 'Five’ Seiler’s vox. Pulling double duty on guitar, Five is joined by another guitarist, who goes simply by Rotten, and a drummer, Marian Waibl. We were first introduced to Vienna’s TAR LUNG in 2014, a record that really put a vice grip on our precious privates. Now, this down-tuned, amp worshipping blues machine is back with more of that swampy southern soup, and 'Void’ is simmering with hurt and vengeance. If you had any doubts about pressing play on this one, well, how can you say no to a song titled, “Demon Sugar Blues”? You’ll be in the sway of its swagger in no time. A friend of mine tipped me off to this one, and I swear I could not. stop. listening.
Belgium
Following last May’s introduction, 'One Mic Garage Takes’ (2015), Leuven psychedelic doom foursome DORRE drops their most substantial offering to date. Adriaan De Raymaeker (guitar), Wolf Overloop (drums), Etherik Heyns (guitar), and Andrew Hockley (bass) are downright impressive in 'One Collapsed at the Altar’ (2016). The 30-minute heavy instrumental composition is a churning sea that starts tranquil enough, but steadily grows more tumultuous, buttressed by wicked fuzz and gritty downtuned riffs, which gradually become more polyphonic, creating a complex weave of textures that cannot help but pull you into this beautifully tangled web of destruction. For points of reference, think Seattle’s Giza, San Diego’s Deep Sea Thunder Beast, or even the great Inter Arma. There is also an element of calm that one could compare to OM, though the Belgian band always has something more ominous bubbling.
Canada
I’ve been a huge fan of the young Toronto outfit HORSE LUNG since their formation. You may recall their LP, 'Gethsemane Haze’ (2015), was a favorite amongst underground music bloggers and placed well on the Doom Charts last year. This fall, Horse Lung are back with a new track, featured on a split cassette with Santa Monica death-doom 'n’ power violence act ERODE. “Rattenkönig” is a massive number, clocking in at over 21 minutes, that builds, builds, builds on a simple monastic riff, growing ever more dense and complex as the song evolves, with baroque variations. The complex fugal development can make for challenging listening, though I found it utterly engrossing. You can feel the tension, the frustration, the pain, like the swirling vortex of Hades in Dante’s Inferno. Drummer James Marrow says, “It’s a lot different from our older material” and his dirge-like rhythms help the piece to stay together as it stretches the boundaries of tonality. More to the point, this instrumental feels like it is coming to terms with a psychotic breakdown.
Chile
One of the players in Chile that has gotten my attention this year is Santiago’s DEJALOSANGRAR (“let it bleed”), who have released a remarkable pair of albums within the mere space of months. They’re the only band I know of besides Karma To Burn that numbers their songs, rather than give them titles. Perhaps it’s because the songs are instrumental, but more than likely it’s because the sounds defy words. Habach / Polanco / Robles is what you hear when you awake in the still of morning, coming to terms with the surreal events of the night before. The songs make me think of an Iommian cadence that has jumped off from the middle of a Sabbath song and is soaring into space.
I hasten to add that rarely do we hear heavy music played with such deftness, sensitivity, and attention to detail (check out the bad-ass seesaw bassline 2 minutes into “1234,” and the tight drumming and subtle incorporation of Latin rhythms that follow). If there is a loudness war, Dejalosangrar are its pacifists. Rodrigo, Hernan, and Jorge can pull off quiet in an otherwise stentorian medium, rivaling peers who have tried similar. And when they do get revved up, best get the fuck out of the way, because Dejalosangrar is anything but predictable.
By the way, did you know we have another blog dedicated solely to tracking the doom scene in Latin America? Roman Tamayo from Vinnum Sabbathi does a great job as editor of the blog. Check it out here when you get a chance.
Czech Republic
Doom gels into all kinds of twisted shapes. Take Gothic doom, for example. Admittedly, it’s taken a bit of cajoling for me to give this sub-genre a fair listen. Opeth, Type O Negative, and My Dying Bride have brought some form of Gothic doom to the ears of heavy music listeners who might not otherwise be engaged by doom. It’s time you meet another compelling voice in this sub-genre: SELF-HATRED. From the record’s opening bars, it’s clear that this is a band that thinks and feels deeply about the music they compose. Hearkening back to bands of symphonic proportions like Draconian, Paradise Lost, and Abysmal Grief, the Czech band accomplishes their designs through blackened tremolos, aggressive beats, the incorporation of some pretty gnarly growls and shrieks, and an atmosphere that summons all the grandiosity of a cathedral’s spire. 'Theia’ (2016), Self-Hatred’s first album, is surely a remarkable addition to the annals of Doom Gothique and one that I found quite accessible.
Denmark
“I’m tired of living. In my desk, I have a revolver and every night I take it out and pray for the courage to pull the trigger, but I can’t.” The band is DRUNKER from Copenhagen and this is their self-titled debut. There’s a lot to like about this release, from the story-telling quality of the opening of a song like “Get High On Your Own Supply,” which you realize mid-way through doesn’t really need lyrics. This song and others on the album bear the influence of the Sleep School of Doom Metal.
We do get vocals, of course, in songs like “I Am The Savior, And So.” They remind me a lot of Mammut (one of my favorite stoner bands). Song after song, Drukner continues to impress me with their musical instincts and inventiveness (that riff in the closing moments of that last track is just brilliant). My favorite of the record, though, is “Gnarnia,” which samples from the dark monologue of the Twilight Zone’s 'Long Live Walter Jameson.’ “I’ve been close to death, but never close enough” has never sounded more chilling, amplified by the dank, fuzzy haze. 'Drukner’ was recorded live in Copenhagen by Anders Haaning and mastered by the great James Plotkin. A very promising beginning for Casper, Kåre, Palle, and Mikkel and easily one of the finer records you’ll encounter in the whole of 2016.
France
We know doom gets slow and low right and it can up its game and blow you away with an up-tempo stoner rhythm or simply wallop you with a massive wall of sound, but can doom be as effective with a more subtle approach? Bordeaux three-piece ENDLESS FLOODS juxtaposes crusty, gut-wrenching vocals (a la the body) and powerful, lumbering chords with a quiet, gentle touch. The result not only works, it is extraordinarily moving. Listening to this didn’t feel like an exercise in patience, as some funeral doom can.
Let’s talk sonics. The reverberating low end and the quiet moments are both captured so gorgeously it practically moved me to tears. I can’t say enough good things about the dynamic range of these compositions! If you’re worried about the ever-escalating “loudness wars” in sound engineering, mixing, and mastering, I think you’ll find the Endless Floods debut to be nothing less than an oasis (case in point, track #3: “Floods”).
Having just recently witnessed the conscientious detail to which a band like Mars Red Sky crafts its songs, unfurling them with extraordinary care live (to great emotional effect), I’m tempted to make some glowing generalizations about French heavy music. It appears that gourmet cuisine is not the only thing the French pursue with passion and excellence. Just when you think doom has made its last stand and said all it needed to say, bands like these come along and renew your confidence in the rich diversity inherent in the genre’s genetic code.
Germany
More beautiful, fuzzy doom to take with you on your next family picnic. This record comes all the way from Garlstorf, Germany and contains six tracks with a dark hue. There’s also a feeling that each song is searching for something, on a quest maybe. 'Traumakarussell’ is the title of the EP, and I suppose that alone speaks volumes for the intent of this record. It’s an exploration of a life fettered by traumatic events and the defiant response to them. Designated as a “demo” by four-piece GONGER-OM, there are varied musical influences at work here. I have to say, I was really taken in by it the moment the verse begins into the lead track, “Brunt.” While they are death vocals, singer Marvin Thiemicke never overstates his case and somehow that works very well for these songs. The pace picks up for “Maniac In The Fog,” as the band rages against the intruder in the unknown. Give 'Traumakarussell’ a go. Well worth the ride.
Guernsey
Well, this is a surprise. Guernsey, truly your doom has come! Yes, I admit, I had to look the place up (and if I had to, so do you). Meet BRUNT. You may actually remember them as the band that brought us that iconic album cover by Nikita Kaun and Natalie Foss for their debut some years back. They do know how to pick 'em, for the new art by Eric Krick is quite compelling, too. Not that the music takes a back seat to the gorgeous visuals, much the contrary. Brunt cares as much about crafting their sound as their image. This three-tracker is performed and produced with extraordinary presence, reminding me of the grandiosity of bands with that big sound, like Inter Arma, Pelican, and Russian Circles. As I listen to the opening track, I melt into the mix, my mind stolen away into a world of sound that is both exquisite and dreadful.
Hungary
When I saw Cough was going to be playing the Desszert Feszt in Budapest, part of me was bemused they were booked in a predominantely stoner rock festival. Would they follow Yawning Man? Zippo? Planet of Zeus? Perhaps Karma To Burn or the Atomic Bitchwax was not too far a stretch, but still, Cough seemed the odd band out…until I saw who was opening for them: OAKEN. So I started listening, intending to just sample their latest, 'King Beast’ (2016) and I couldn’t stop. Each time I thought I’d move on to something else, the ravenous singing, the obsessive drumming, and the deadly riff-making kept me thoroughly engaged. Man, this album does not let up!
Sweden
Now this is an interesting find: “Six songs of Deadly Black Doom played with dedication to Sathanas Trismegistos.” The release by Stockholm-based HEAD OF THE DEMON has gradually taken hold since its quiet release on Walpurgis Night, so much so that it has since been issued on CD and in the past month was pressed to vinyl. The brainchild of Johannes Kvarnbrink (of the black metal band Mortus), Head of the Demon’s opus is steeped in the foggy mysteries of the Lovecraftian underworld. Another reviewer called their sound a “perfect blend of doom and spookiness.” Heartfelt is the word that comes to mind when listening to Sathanas Trismegistos. The simple use of arpeggiated major-minor chords is put to great effect when contrasted with the full-bodied growls of Kvarnbrink’s throaty vocals.
This journey has taken us around the world and across the alphabet, and now we land in the native stomping grounds of the Goate and close our tonal excursion for today…but do not fear. We shall be back in the weeks ahead for more DOOOOOOOM)))))) Around the World~!