~Doomed & Stoned Debuts

By Billy Goate

The words “heavy” and “epic” have all but worn out their welcome in album reviews.   We just haven’t figured out a better way to describe the massive quantity of sound that doom metal brings us.   Now we have another pair of words: ‘Glacial Rule.’   Oshkosh power pack ATTALLA is back in action with a new album, the follow-up to their widely heralded eponymous debut in 2014.

Wisconsin has only in modern times held a certain charm.   Back in pioneering days, it was a bleak existence (see documentary, 'Wisconsin Death Trip’).   It’s only natural that Cody Stieg (vox, lead guitar), Brian Hinckley (rhythm guitar), Bryan Kunde (bass), and James Slater (drum) would turn to their homeland as a source of inspiration.   “You write what you know,” they say. “The whole direction and feel of the album is about the environment, heritage, and history of our state.”

“We really dug into the history of Wisconsin.”   Specifically, ATTALLA grew fascinated with the prehistoric Wisconsin.   Glacial Rule envisions a time when cold, heavy glaciers moved through the Midwest Great Lakes region.   “What’s heavier than a big block of ice?”   What, indeed.  “That’s why our state is so flat in parts, it just plowed over everything.”   I’d say you have a pretty apt description of the new album, too, right there.

Today, Doomed & Stoned is proud to debut a massive number from the forthcoming full-length, which was recorded by Shane Hochstetler of Howl Street Recordings and mastered by Carl Saff.   The artwork is the handiwork of none other than our Portland, Oregon hommie, Adam Burke (the gatefold will reveal even more, including a panorama of Devil’s Lake).   This DIY effort will be released on vinyl, tape, and digital on March 24th (pre-orders are now open at www.attallawi.bandcamp.com.

“Black Wolf Rituals” is a colossal number that will be an immediate draw to doomers and stoners alike.   Give ear…

I asked the guys for a bit of a walk-through and they were good enough to oblige my curiosity.   “Butte Des Morts” opens the record and translates to “Hill of the Dead.”   “The French came and murdered the Red Fox Indians on this land,” ATTALLA recounts.

This leads us into “Ice Harvest,” inspired by a faded old photograph of a 1910 worker slicing through concrete blocks of ice out of the lake.   “We live right on Lake Winnebago, which is a big-ass lake.   Before refrigerators were around, they’d cut blocks of ice and hall them in for cold storage.”

“Valderan” comes next and borrows its name from the gargantuan glacier that once dominated the Wisconsin terrain.  “Black Wolf Ritual" is steeped in metaphor.   “Basically, it’s about going out every Friday night, lighting a bonfire and partying together.”   Now that’s my kind of heavy.

As we near the end of the record, we’re taken to “Devil’s Lake.” Why do they call it Devil’s Lake? “Probably to attract tourists,” they laugh.   “It’s got this really cool rock formation, which was created by glaciers.” And, of course, there are plenty of legends about more nefarious activities there.

Finally, we arrive at the album’s namesake, “Glacial Rule,” and despite gigantic riffs and crushing beats, I feel invigorated by the journey.

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