Hier mal die Reviews aller Outputs, die so langsam reinkommen. Wer noch andere Kritiken kennt, bitte posten oder mich benachrichtigen:
CW005 : 'Tekhton - Summon the core'
TEKHTON is a new Sludge band from The Netherlands by ex-members of LAHAR and SUMMON THE CORE is their awesome debut. Post sludge/doom at the highest level! One of the best Sludge releases of 2007.. Total Rust Records
So I received a pleasant surprise in the mail today from my buddy Bert-Rene. It was the latest CD from his band TEKHTON dubbed "Summon The Core".
I was a bit apprehensive about reviewing this CD prior to inserting it into my CD player. I mean, what if it sucked? How would I break the news to my buddy Bert and would he think I was a dick afterwards? Thankfully this release is topnotch and I don't have to worry about it. But I was sweating there for a minute.
Just for clarification some of you may recall the self described "post sludge" doom band from the Netherlands called LAHAR right? Well LAHAR and TEKHTON are apparently one in the same. Somewhere along the line the band had a name change and somehow I must've missed the update. There was an update right? Anyway, these guys have been around for a long time and I'm really glad to see that they finally have a full length release on their hands. And a good one at that.
I really like the layout and artwork on this CD. Very clean and tastefully done with photos apparently taken by Bert-Rene himself. The imagery however is not very representative of the crushing music contained on the disc but that's no big deal. As for the recording itself all I can say is WOW!!!. I can only assume that these guys didn't have a million dollar recording budget but you'd never know it from listening to the disc. Everything sounds great on this record from the heavy to the mellow, fucking flawless!
Musically TEKHTON for me is kind of hard to label. Clearly doom but presented in a way that I've not really heard before (most of the time). Bert's vocals have sort of a gurgully texture to them and his delivery sometimes seems as if it was punk inspired. Think old Fear with a bit more bite. The chordal movements and guitar lines are all very doom with a slight sludge flavor. I also hear hint's of old Cathedral in some of the guitar work. Another element these guys incorporate are melodic guitar parts that seem sort of Mogwai inspired. Ordinarily this would probably bother me because so many bands are doing it but TEKHTHON puts their own spin on it and these moments on the album are a bit dirtier and darker then anything you'll hear from Mogwai.
At this point all I can say is that "Summon the Core" was well worth the wait and that I'm genuinely very impressed with this release. I was prepared to give it a bad review if I had to, friend or no friend. But that was not in the cards and I guess I get to keep my old friend and the rest of the doom community gets a very solid record to enjoy!
Oh, and let's not wait another 5 years for the next release okay boys?
AGAINST NATURE Pluperfect 7" The Church Within (Germany)
Revelation were always one of the more enigmatic bands to arise from the Maryland doom metal scene of the late 80's/early 90's, with a style that was more informed by progressive rock than the grittier Sabbathisms of their peers in Wretched, Unorthodox, and Internal Void. When I was assembling the Doom Capital compilation a few years ago, Revelation were one of the few bands that I had heard was still around and recording, but for one reason or another I had been unable to get ahold of anyone (this was before the Myspace explosion, obviously). Curious as to what the members of Revelation were up to, I didn't hear anything about them until recently, when I found out about a new band called Against Nature from Baltimore that was bascially comprised of the Revelation lineup from their debut album Salvation's Answer that came out on Rise Above back in 1991. Taking their name from a Revelation song, Against Nature combined the crushing bluesy riffing of Black Sabbath and Trouble with prog rock moves reminiscent of Rush and even Voivod at times, a distinctive brand of doom metal different from anyone else from the Doom Capital. This German import 7" is the first thing I've heard from 'em, but the two songs on here are killer, "Pluperfect", a new jam exclusive to this EP, and "Confusion", a new reworking of an old Revelation song from one of their early demos that never appeared on any of Revelation's albums proper. Limited edition of 500.
DEEP BLUE, THE Antartic Abyss CD Church Within (Germany) OK, these guys sound alot like Sleep. ALOT. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that they sound alot like Om, the post-Sleep power duo of Al Cisneros and Chris Hakius, 'cuz Deep Blue do a similiar drone-chord pound over Tibetan chanting thing. Of course, Deep Blue are a guitar/bass/drums trio, so the sound is more downtuned and crunchy and sludgy, but if there was ever a need to hear what Om would sound like as a full band, then Deep Blue are here to serve. That said, this is an excellent slab o' hypnotic trance sludge, coming at us from another new favorite label, The Church Within. Specializing in progressive, psychedelic-tinged doom and sludge, The Deep Blue fit right in with the melodic progressive sludge of Tekhton and the druggy tectonic dirge of Spancer. Split into two tracks, The Antartic Abyss (sic) features "Under The Ice: The Resurrection" and "Haunted Tide: The Freezing Storm", each roughly 13 minutes long, mighty hypno doom mantras of syrupy riffage and trippy chanting about ancient Lovecraftian ocean tyrants rising from beneath ice floes. Being a huge fan of both droning hypnotic riffage and ancient Lovecraftian beasts awakening from the ocean floor, I don't give a shit how indebted to Sleep/Om these guys are, this disc rules me.
REVEREND BIZARRE / MANNHAI Under The Sign Of The Wolf 7" EP The Church Within (Germany)
Aww YEAH, two smokin' Finnish doom metal outfits each pay homage to a different Pentagram jam and the results are KILLER. Tribute records can be an iffy proposition but the two bands picked for this particular slab couldn't be better outfitted for the job. The a-side has Mannhai, who I hadn't heard of previously but some quick investigating turns up that the band is made up of a couple of ex-Amorphis dudes playing brutally bluesy stoner rock, and their rendition of Pentagram's mighty "Forever My Queen" is a titanic chugger, the central monster riff, bangover-inducing guitar harmonies and sleezy singing backed up by what sounds like a malfunctioning tape player jamming its motors. AWESOME. And it gets even better when you flip this mother onto the b-side, where legendary Finnish doomsters Reverend Bizarre unleash a cover of "Broken Vows", one of my fave Pentagram jams, and dontcha know that Reverend Bizarre just lay out there version supremely, beefed up with Albert Witchfinders distinctive vocals and wicked guitar harmonies. One of the final breaths from the Rev and it's almost bittersweet, seein' as how this split came out right around the same time as RB played their last show. Killer werewolf cover art, too.
SPANCER Slowly We Rock CD Church Within (Germany)
This stash of stuff from The Church Within is killin'...from The Deep Blue's crushing Sleep/Om-inspired trance sludge to Against Nature's proggy Maryland doom, every release that they've sent us has been a distinctly different take on slomo heaviosity. And Spancer might be one of the heaviest. This Germany band has two bass players, for starters, and we all know that if you need to get really heavy, two bass players will get you there nicely via some low-end overload. Slowly We Rock is their 2nd battle cry, following the 2001 album Countdown To Victory - I haven't heard that one yet, but this disc rocks pretty hard, a grooving blast of crusty psych-sludge with intertwining basslines, the one bass guitar is actually played more like a lead instrument with huge wah and fuzz-soaked basslines riding the fx-coated guitar riffs and heavy wah-wah abuse, growling rusted vocals trading off with monstrous death grunts, a bass heavy scum boogie like Electric Wizard mashed with Weedeater, blackened acid doom fused with sludgy Deep South drawl and bizarre metaphysical lyrics. Three songs but they're fucking monoliths, the shortest one is over 10 minutes long. By the time Spancer reach the 17-minute closer "Soulcadger", yer skull is heavily glazed in a drugtrip riff wipeout that rolls out over you like a wave of black lava. Totally pulverizing, droning acid-sludge in the realm of Warhorse, Dystopia, Grief, Winter, etc.
TEKHTON Summon The Core CD Church Within (Germany)
Church Within is another new label that I just got hooked on - based out of Germany, the label only has a handful of releases out but all of them are stunning pieces of progressive doom/sludge, each with a unique take on slow n' low heaviness. The first disc we picked up from the stash of Church Within jams that we just got in this week is a brand new full length from the Dutch band Tekhton, Summon The Core. The band used to be called Lahar but found out that the name was already claimed by another band; they managed to change it to the superior Tekhton just in time to lay down the seven songs of monstrously beautiful, trance-inducing prog-doom on this album. The pace is slow, slow, slow, and Tekhton have clearly spent alot of time listening to classic doom metal like Cathedral, Saint Vitus. But they also incorporate cool dissonant chords and long, extended instrumental passages of pretty pastoral arpeggios and delicate melody, but where alot of bands that use quiet melodic parts to build up into loud, epic crescendos, Tekhton general use them wind down a song that started off crushing. Long drawn out droning riffs alternate with more traditional Sabbathian hooks and some angular twists and turns, and the vocals are a strained gruff roar that reminds me of someone but I can't put my finger on it. At various points Tekhton remind me of Melvins, Cathedral, and Mogwai, a combination of quiet dreamy instrumentals, lumbering intricate sludge rock and primordial doom, but they don't actually sound like any of 'em, instead coming out with a debut that stands as one of the more creative sludge/doom albums of '07. The package for Summon The Core stands out too, with a tasteful package design consisting of beautiful photos of seaside cliffs, minimally arranged. Recommended.
TEKHTON - Summon the core CD CHURCH WITHIN Sludgy tones on this high quality debut, tranquil in all its heaving heavyness... Comes across like a mixture of Neurosis and Sleep (Jerusalem -era).
THE DEEP BLUE - Antartic abyss MCD THE CHURCH WITHIN Two lengthy tracks echoing SLEEP circa Jerusalem from this debuting and very promising U.K. act. Recomended.
SPANCER – Slowly we rock CD THE CHURCH WITHIN These German sludge-slugs first full length release on a proper label (previously they have self released Countdown to victory, a CD of 36 min playing time). Crushingly heavy stuff that comes across like a crossbreed of ELECTRIC WIZARD, SLEEP and EYEHATEGOD! Great album and a really promising start for newly started TCW Records! All hail the Doom dealer!
Spancer – Slowly we rock Da sie ohnehin nicht verheimlichen können, gehen Spancer in die Offensive und verkünden freimütig dass ihr Sound maßgeblich von Saint Vitus und Sleep beeinflusst ist. Ach nee!?! Dennoch ist das erste offizielle Release der Band für eine Überraschung gut. „Slowly we rock“ ist nämlich eine richtig gute Doom Metal Scheibe geworden, die auf der Essenz dessen basiert, was Saint Vitus und Sleep getrieben haben. Zu dieser muss man sich erstmal vorarbeiten und sie in sich aufnehmen. Bereits daran scheitern viele Gruppen, jedoch nicht Spancer. Sie haben das ausgebremste, staubige Doom-Verständnis tief in sich aufgesogen. Selbst das groovige Feeling stimmt, und die Band hat sich ganz bewusst für den albumtitel „Slowly we rock“ entschieden. Denn das genau tun die Musiker ja auch, noch dazu richtig satt und unglaublich nachhaltig. Da kann man schon einmal Selbstbewusstsein an den Tag legen und seine Tracks „The Art of true mastership“ , „Thrones of Wisdom“ und „Soulscadger“ taufen. Die Schallmauer von zehn Minuten durchbricht jedes dieser drei Stück und Spancer sorgen ganz wie selbständig für Unterhaltung und fesselnde Spannung. Respekt ! 12 von 15 Punkten
Tekhton – Summon the Core Journalisten sind ja gemeinhin geneigt, die einstmals stiefmütterlich behandelte Doom – Metal Szene dieser Tage in den Himmel zu loben und sich Integrität sowie damit einhergehenden Glaubwürdigkeit dadurch zu erheischen, das Festivals wie das Doom Shall Rise göttergleich abgehandelt werden. Das nicht alles Gold ist was glänzt, trifft ebenso auf dieses jahrelang sträflich unterbewertete Subgenre zu, und auch hier finden sich gute wie schlechte Bands, so ist es schließlich überall. Egal, mich kümmert es damals in den 90ern nicht, als sich keine Sau um Doom einen Kopf machte, als Scheiben meiner Lieblingsband reihenweise verrissen wurden, die heute von denselben Leuten komischerweise gerne als „wegweisende Klassiker“ tituliert werden. Versteh einer die Welt. Ach ja, und der Name der Plattenfirma, die Tekhtons Debütalbum herausbrachte, steht für eines der besten Alben des letzten Jahrzehnts …. Doch nun zu „Summon the Core“: Tekhton sind ein Beispiel für eine zwar originelle, aber wenig spektakuläre und wenig mitreißende Doom-Band. Natürlich agieren die Niederländer im Zeitlupentempo, breiten ihre atmosphärischen Soundlandschaften vor dem Hörer schön gemächlich aus. Doch sollte man keineswegs die reine Doom-Lehre erwarten, obwohl die Jungs ihren Sound zum Glück auch nicht mit fröhlichen Stoner-Anleihen anreichern. Man greift eher die misanthropische Kälte von Neurosis oder die Heaviness des typischen Ne Orleans Sound auf ( also eher Crowbar, Eyehategod, Down und Konsorten). Irgendwie erinnern mich die sieben Songs von „Summon the Core“ sehr an die belgischen Kollegen von Serpentcult (bzw. die ehemaligen Plague of Gentlemen) wenngleich man weniger verspielt und rockiger agiert, sondern eher auf düstere Beharrlichkeit, Monotonie und Brachialität setzt. Die Musik auf der gleicht also einer Dampfwalze und lässt nicht immer auf die Urväter Black Sabbath schließen. Eigentlich machen Tekhton ihre Sache recht gut, dennoch vermag speziell der Gesang kaum Akzente zu setzen, zu monoton röchelt er in der Gegend rum, womit wir gleich beim Hauptmanko des Albums wären. Denn die Songs selbst sind durchaus ansprechend, vermögen durch geile Grooves und richtig schön traditionelle Riffs zu glänzen, selbst wenn man sich scheut, auch öfter mal den Ton stehen zu lassen, eine bizarre öde Soundlandschaft zu kreierend, deren einzige Freiheit darin besteht, dass sie eines Tages von den Wassermassen verschlungen wird. Diese Szenerie wurde im Booklet recht gut visualisiert, dafür werden leider keine Texte geliefert. Aber egal, richtige Akzente vermögen Tekhton noch nicht zu setzen, wenngleich Nichttraditionalisten des Dooms schon mal ein Ohr riskieren können, denn schlecht ist „Summon the Core“ definitiv nicht!“ 6 von 15 Punkten
The Deep Blue – Antartic Abyss
Das hier dürfte nicht jedermanns Ding sein. The Deep Blue spielen extrem zähflüssigen Doom und haben auf „Antarrtic Abyss gerade mal zwei Songs verewigt, die beide knapp dreizehn Minuten lang sind. Die Band legt Wert auf Monotonie und das Aufbauen von Stimmungen, von technischen Abfahrten können sie nicht weiter entfernt sein. Gesang wird nur sehr selten eingebaut, die Stücke sind zu einem Großteil rein instrumental. Wenn Daniel Frye denn mal den Mund öffnet, erklingen sakrale Laute, die meisten mit einem Effekt überlagert sind, der die Stimme roboterartig klingen lässt. Von dieser Art Siebziger – Jahre - Effekten kommen einige auf „Antartic Abyss“ zum Einsatz. Trotzdem kommt keine bekiffte Hippie-Atmosphäre auf, die Musik ist schwer und melancholisch. Musikalisch ist dieses Mini – Album sicherlich mit dem Abschiedalbum von Reverend Bizarre vergleichbar, qualitativ hinkt es jedoch noch ein klein wenig hinterher. Wer jedoch Doom und endlos langen Stücken nicht genug bekommen kann, der ist hier bestens beraten. 11 von 15 Punkten
Die Doomster aus dem holländischen Groningen waren zuvor bereits unter dem Namen Lahar unterwegs und setzten hier zu Lande eine erste Duftmarke auf dem dritten Doom Shall Rise. Mit dem Namenswechsel zu Tekhton ging eine musikalische Kurskorrektur hin zu deutlich wuchtigeren und schmutzigeren Doomsounds einher, die die Band selbst als Post – Sludge bezeichnet. Was nixt anderes heißt, als dass die sieben Songs auf „Summon the Core“ sehr dreckig, rau und ungeschliffen klingen und viele Genrepuristen aufgrund ihrer auch für angeschrägte Postcore – Einflüsse offene Bauart nur bedingt gefallen dürfte. Scheuklappenverweigerer sollten sich dagegen ruhig mal probeweise niederwalzen lassen. 7,5 Punkte von 10 Punkten Rock Hard (aktuelle Ausgabe)
Die Engländer klingen auf ihrem aus zwei jeweils knapp 13 Minuten langen Songs bestehenden Debüt wie ein frostiger Bastard aus Sunn0))) und Electric Wizard. Allerdings klarer strukturiert, monolithischer und nur ansatzweise Drone – kompatible. Dabei entwickeln The Deep Blue ein sehr Gespür für den richtigen Einsatz von Laut/leise Dynamics und lassen auch schon mal einen arktischen Schneesturm aus dem Eiszapfen überzogenen Boxen heulen. Dadurch entwickeln die Songs mit zunehmender Spielzeit eine immer hypnotischere Sogwirkung und zwingen geradezu zum mehrmaligen Betätigen der Repeat-Taste. 8 von 10 Punkten
The River – Broken Window 10“
Doombands mit weiblichem Gesang sind rar gesät. Aber nicht nur wegen der eigenwillig – lakonischen Gesangdarstellung von Doom – Chanteuse Vicky sollte man diesem in 10“ – Vinyl gepressten Drei – Tracker das geneigte Zeitlupenohr schenken. Denn The River klingen definitiv eigenständiger und vielschichtiger als viele Doom – Genossen, die in erster Linie den immer breiter ausgetretenen Fußstapfen von bekannten Genrevertretern folgen. Und auch die Besitzer des Debütalbums „Drawning down the Sun“ sollten einen Kauf in Erwägung ziehen, weil zwei der Albumsongs in teils noch langsamerem Tempo hier noch mal neu vertont wurden, während der dritte Song „To bring closure“ komplett neu ist. 7,5 von 10 Punkten
Spancer – Slowly We Rock (The Church Within Records) By Jay Snyder December 22, 2007
I love these guys. Everything about Spancer rules right down to their work ethic. You can tell they put a truckload of soul into their ungodly, crushing doom/sludge but they also like to move along at their own pace. As quoted by the band themselves, “The elephant takes it easy and knowingly enjoys its days”. Such a quote describes Spancer’s sound perfectly. This is a band that takes their time, embodying everything I love about the most hateful, turgid doom metal out there. In addition they are also as heavy as a damn herd of elephants. Hell, they are one of the heaviest doom bands out there as far as I’m concerned.
Previous album, “Countdown to Victory” still gets an extensive amount of playtime in my CD player, so the anticipation for “Slowly We Rock” has been really intense in my camp. I’m even more pleased to announce that it surpasses its predecessor which is no small victory. These three songs are huge, taking their good old time to build up walls of suffocating, distortion created by the interplay of twin bass guitars. Spancer’s sound packs so much more thickness than most bands of this vein out there because the one bass is prominent in the mix allowing it to act as a lead. That coupled with the beefy guitar tone and an additional low-end creates a towering blast of volume that is not easy to replicate or ignore. Even better the band focuses on developing highly memorable riffs that groove and swing even when they are played at 5 mph. An endless onslaught of grinding percussion and vocalist Markus’ throaty screams of oblivion dump an unending amount of filthy sewage on top of your skull to fill out their black hole in the space and time continuum.
All it takes is one listen of opener “The Art of True Mastership” to get the full effect of their reign of doom. Acoustic, Eastern guitar twang backs up a sample of what sounds like a shogun or ninja master speaking about the art of the sword, thus setting the stage for a 15+ minute dirge full of warped, droning bass textures, blackened doom and thundering blues groove. Top choice riffs abound in each moment of this epic descent into a gut-wrenching tale of ancient history in the land of the rising sun. The sheer force of the twin bass, one guitar Spancer methodology makes for a listen that is always revealing hidden frequencies that you may have missed on your first training session with this deformed sensei.
Our second journey “Throne of Wisdom” takes us on the most upbeat voyage that I have ever heard from Spancer, who forgo their usual plod for a mid-tempo lashing that pours on the dirty, Sabbath-y doom swing in one of the most vicious displays that I’ve heard from the genre in quite sometime. A false start of fetid, building distortion in the track’s early going was made all the more shocking when these bruisers venture into a tempo that is near grind speed when compared to their usual fare. Wash it all down with a cocktail of Winter, Sabbath and tranquilizers and you’ll have an idea of the kind of bravado this track overflows with. The guitar even ventures away from the main riffs in order to nail a freaky, psychedelic solo from time to time for even more damage to your temples.
The coupe de grace comes in the form of the 17 psychotic minutes of “Soulcadger”. A Church of Misery feel wanders in with the burnt out blues riffs that showcase Spancer at their most upbeat. The grooves are bright even though the mood still reeks of unrepentant blackness. Somehow the tone of the triple stringed instruments comes as across as a nod to Japan’s favorite serial killer sons with an added dash of heaviness, hate and heft. Nothing like the combination of the three H’s to make for the perfect finishing blow. The long, droning outro of the song is actually welcome; acting as a shake-ridden comedown from the band’s special brand of mental ward catharsis. I can’t even wrap my head around how cool of a drone out that this is. Both basses emit layers of distorted drone that actually entices instead of bores giving the guitar another opportunity for a precision noise solo that kicks you in the teeth just when you think they’ll bring the song to a close. They even go the extra mile of throwing in a few well-placed death metal growls in this tune that aren’t something I ever expected to make an appearance in a Spancer song. A lighthearted sample of a song (that has to be heard), finishes the song off; showing that there is a bit of humor in all of the punishment that was just delivered.
I’m not even kidding when Spancer’s three song sophomore album is going to be a prime runner for my album of the year. This is the one to beat this year if you like your doom/sludge just a bit meaner than everything else. Despite their all encompassing crush, Spancer have created an album full of riffs that aren’t just evil but infectious. Each time I play this disc I end up hitting the replay button for another round. Grab a copy of this disc and behold one of the best doom releases this year but do not apply if you have a delicate set of ears. You can hear samples of two tracks on their web space but seriously just do yourself a favor and buy the damn thing. The songs are so massive that you can’t properly get a good impression with some low quality edit versions.
The Deep Blue – Antarctic Abyss (The Church Within Records) By Jay Snyder December 23, 2007
It isn’t often that this happens but the press sheet for The Deep Blue is just about dead on. In fact the Crucial Blast review included may be able to put this in better perspective than I ever could. Although I’ve got a few things to say on my own part about this debut from the UK’s The Deep Blue. Even though I myself dig on Om quite a bit, I think The Deep Blue could be the answer for Sleep fans who find Haikus’ and Cisneros’ latest project just a cut below their expectations. In fact I think I dig the two songs on this record better than Om’s entire body thus far. Call it blasphemy if you want but I think The Deep Blue takes the foundation that the masters are working on and adds a couple of extra rooms to it.
What helps here (or takes away from the novelty depending on how you look at it) is the fact that The Deep Blue is a three piece with a guitar adding extra girth to the buzzing bass distortion. The monolithic drumming and chanting vocals aren’t much of a deviation from what Om has to offer but something about the songwriting here moves much more ground; especially if you finish these two tracks from front to back. Whereas Om abandons the traditional elephantine grooves of Sleep, The Deep Blue embraces them, rendering their sound with a rich bluesy rumble that has appeal right from the starting line.
The lumbering kickoff provided by “Under the Ice: The Resurrection” makes it known that this material will nod heavily to their influences but take a different path as well. It is driven by a lengthy lead-in that gives way to a slow-motion dirge that drones with a hypnotic, spiritual feel that isn’t afraid to add melodic guitar licks and twisted Sabbath riffs to the meditative state of consciousness that their sound induces. Psychedelic guitar lines even float into the kind of spacious atmospherics which cosmic dope dealers Mammatus and Dead Meadow apply to their material on a regular basis. This track is particularly defined by a droning end sequence that will be sure to leave all that hear it in a delightfully comatose state.
Best part of this disc is that “Haunted Tide: The Freezing Storm” the second epic track is even better than the first. Twice as monumental and groovy as its predecessor; this tune brings in a more upbeat swing. The Deep Blue’s special blend of 70’s tinged influence on their almighty guitar/bass grooves helps this song kick into high gear quickly. Echoing chants and whispers create an even better mood than the vocals of the three records of their closest peer band as the delivery here is slightly more gripping. After a ripping intro of dense chords and groove the guys opt for an ambient section that slowly makes it way towards a windswept sample. The sparse instrumentation of this part would make one hard pressed to believe a really formidable storm is on the horizon in the form of a heavier than thou classic groove that I dare you to try to shake from memory after one listen. Several breaks that seep into tribal drum pummel and swells of deadly amplifier emissions pave the way for a finale that gets more metallic and galloping with each repetition. The din is silenced by the calm of ambient distortion and howling winds, putting an end to this surprising piece of work.
My only complaint with this disc is that it is a bit too short. Although there is plenty to explore over the course of the two included songs the problem remains that it is only two songs. Material this good warrants a few extra tracks. Nonetheless The Deep Blue is off to a smashing start with album number one and I stand by my statement that this is more dynamic than even Om. I do enjoy Om a great deal but the guitar here fills in the gray areas that the mighty Sleep rhythm section leaves wide open in their own tunes. Then again Om has no intention of just recreating Sleep, so this band gives you a combination of both ideologies if you are dissatisfied. I highly recommend this one to the folks out there who Om doesn’t deliver the goods for. You might find yourself enjoying The Deep Blue a good deal more.
Tekhton – Summon The Core (The Church Within Records) By Jay Snyder December 31, 2007
Rounding out an awesome trio of newer releases from The Church Within Records is Tekhton; a most unusual five piece from the Netherlands. Hovering loosely in a realm between ultra heavy doom and mesmerizing post-rock the band is truly peddling something different while rising triumphantly above the sake of pure novelty.
First and foremost this is heavy stuff that catches a bit of classic groove coupled with a lowdown rumble that draws from the heaviness of “Forest of Equilibrium” era Cathedral, Warhorse and Winter. Twin guitars pummel out riff after riff of quaking, stoner tinged doom metal that nary rises above a deadly mid-tempo shuffle. Molten rhythms ooze through your speakers and are akin to the movement of the tectonic plates with appropriately dense bass distortion colliding face first onto a bed of anvil heavy percussion. Everything is wrapped up with a tendency for dynamic melodic segments and an ominous haze of tense, dissonant textures that are a deviation from the general playbook of this sort of music. The vocals also have a unique quality to them, opting for a throaty, whiskey soaked growl that I can’t really liken to any particular vocalist offhand. It is kind of a sung growl if you will; if that truly makes any sense.
The tour de force opener “Oxen of the Sun” shows the psychedelic distances that Tekhton frequently travel to. Off color keyboard melodies shimmer beneath a steadfast crawl of post-doom riffs that erupt into full on doom swing later on. This song is truly strange. Everything about it is a twisted version of the two prime genres it draws from (especially in the guitar department), making for a bleak captivating listen that doesn’t offer up easy answers.
Immediately after the weirdness of the first track, “Terrors in the Whale” shows a bit more of the band’s adherence to tradition. Compositionally I wouldn’t call this traditional at all but the structure here is more tangible, relying on downtrodden riffing that nails just the right amount of classic boogie. The gripping 70’s lunge of the song’s opening riff will draw you in right off the bat, even though the remainder of the 5+ minute running time is spent drilling you into the ground with increasingly distressful riffs and manic, microphone torture. There’s still some insane guitar alchemy in this track where it sounds like twin axes Dirk and Ralph are finding a new way to contact alien life. Continuing the descent down the doom ladder is the aptly titled “Days of Doom” which is a mammoth of syrupy, retro grooves that eventually takes a foray into the slower, hopeless dregs of bipolar doom. Nothing too flashy on this track but superior riff mastery makes it another standout leg of our journey.
It is with the instrumental “03I05” that the band unleashes their straight-up melodic tendencies. They build atmosphere with an intro of fuzzy, smoked out riffs but instead delve into an acoustic jam that is nothing short of beautiful. It was something I wasn’t expecting from this outfit even though “Oxen of the Sun” showed that Tekhton were capable of just about anything on this full-length.
With an acoustic reprieve, the stage is set for the band to decimate you with the towering presence of “It is Death” which probably stands as my favorite track on the album. Honestly, if this song doesn’t impress you on some level there is a good chance you might be dead. Weaving together equal parts St. Vitus, Cathedral and Rosetta; this wicked composition will get stuck in your head in a big way. The verse is extremely addictive with a drugged out 70’s groove providing serious bravado that is further complimented by the most infectious vocal hooks on the album. I’ve been walking around for the last two weeks mumbling “It is death, I tell you its death” everywhere I go. The air of heaving post-rock dissonance punctuates the catchier moments of the song. These moments often have an undercurrent of bitter doom beneath ‘em to really get the blood boiling and just when you think you’ve got the song figured out they’ll throw in sweeping washes of ambience that will simultaneously dazzle, confuse and generally impress your ears.
“There be Giants” sends us further into the sonic post-rock world of Tekhton’s repertoire. This track has a few of the album’s most upbeat, indie guitar licks while still remaining mindful of the doom as a focal point. An extended intro with the bass fighting to the forefront is a welcome highlight to this track and one that carries into the like-minded intro of the devastating closure of “Apocalypse Machine” that manages to pack in a bit of all of the styles into one mutated final product. Eerie surges of distortion illustrate the lush post-rock atmosphere with style but sinister doom wafting up from diseased lands put an end to the track’s chance of sounding polished or peppy. Ripping screams make their presence known in the finale marking their only appearance on the entire disc, creating an effectively menacing overtone for the album’s end.
This record is a fantastic piece of work. Tekhton manages to straddle the fence between pulverizing doom and cosmic ambience without ever losing track of their overall goal. They also are able to utilize both styles in abundance which is not an easy path to travel. If you’re in the mood for a completely different doom trip then this is the record for you. I can’t even imagine how they’ll progress from here but they’ve made themselves a hell of a plateau to conquer with future endeavors.
DOOMEDSOULS
Thema drucken
27.08.2007 19:44
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