Monolord – Empress Rising

Jun 20 • International News, Reviews, The Slumbering Ent • 3833 Views

Jayaprakash Satyamurthy reviews the debut album from Monolord titled Empress Rising, released via Easyrider Records.

 Artwork by Nik Dudukovic.More of his work here.

Doom metal as a genre is enjoying something of a heyday; so much so that long term fans are starting feel that it may be turning into a bandwagon, getting too big to retain its integrity. This may be partly true, especially around the occult rock end of things and the intersection with stoner rock. Still, as long as there are solid debut albums being released by new doom acts, I’d say the genre still has legs. Monolord’s ‘Empress Rising’, then, is not just a brilliantly well realized first album, it’s also a sign that the present wave of doom metal is far from played out.

Heaviness isn’t only about speed, and intensity can be about atmosphere as much as it can be about sheer virtuosity. It’s clear where Monolord’s focus lies: on building a massive, trance-inducing doom groove that reminds me as much of Sleep and Electric Wizard as it does of the kraut leanings of bands like Pharaoh Overlord and Ufomammut. The dual doom/psych elements are immediately evident with the title track, which starts with a plodding yet hooky riff played out in a watery, flanging tone. After repeating this figure to the point of trance-induction, the distortion kicks in and the same motif becomes the pivot for an onslaught of massive heaviness – all at the restrained, purposeful tempi of traditional doom metal. The vocals, veiled in echo and reverb and essentially catchy, add to the spacey yet pounding feel.

‘Audhumbla’ similarly takes a simple, yet hypnotic riff and slowly puts it through its paces, spinning out variations and extrapolations in a manner that shows the band’s kraut influences. Incursions of noise and a crunchy bass tone anchor the superheavy, mid paced riffing and extraterrestrial vocal. ‘Harbinger of Death’ is exactly as menacing and anthemic as you’d want a song with that title to be, and the two remaining songs, ‘Icon’ and ‘Watchers of the Waste’ are poured out from the same mould, and just as good.

This is a compact album: 5 songs and about 45 minutes of music. The energy levels, intensity and musical quality are remarkably consistent throughout; at the end of it all, you’re liable to feel just a little awed at the sheer cohesiveness and power of this band. In ‘Empress Rising’ Monolord have delivered a brooding, inviting album, something that creates an atmosphere of its own, something which generates an intense gravity field that you’ll be completely enveloped in. And the sound is fresh and interesting while still being recognizably grounded in the evolution of the doom genre. This is one of the essential doom releases of 2014 and a clear sign that the genre itself is still immune to its own namesake.

RATING : 5/5 

(A majestic monument, a banner of triumph for the ages, like a berserk barbarian overpowering a mighty horde single-handed with time for wenches and wine on the side)

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EyeHateGod – S/T

Jun 20 • International News, Reviews, The Slumbering Ent • 2957 Views

Dinesh Raghavendra reviews the new self titled from Eyehategod, released via Housecore Records.

Eyehategod were the inventors of sludge metal. If you would like to disagree with me, you can go ahead but for what its worth, these guys really know how to grind out the rage. They have very little studio output ever since they formed. Their last album came out in 2010 and the new album is a hark back to the old days. The album marks the final appearance of Joey La Caze, their original drummer and his Dale Croveresque pounding will be missed.

“Agitation! Propaganda!” is the first song on this album and its hardcore. Punk riffs that melt into southern grooves. “Trying to crack a hard dollar” is even better. The stoner grooves and doomy vocals remind one of the dazzling array of riffs these imps have up their sleeves. “Quitter’s Offensive” is the least catchy track although the traditional rock ballad structure makes it quite accessible to a non-sludge audience.”Parish motel sickness” and “Quitter’s offensive” are good old sludge. These two tracks don’t really have anything new to offer and “Worthless Rescue” and “Framed to the Wall” have a few standout moments but overall the riffs get repetitive and unoriginal on these four tracks. “Robitussin and Rejection” and “Medicine Noose”, are both have a register full of shifting moods, and percussion and Williams’ always-pissed vocals. These two are stand out tracks compared to the rest of the songs on the new album. Eyehategod might not be at the peak of their powers on this album but they do have their moments.

I wish they had put out more studio output seeing how good they are. This is one of those bands that I always wanted to catch live. Hell, I even binge-watched a whole TV show just to get to the point where they appear on screen. (The show was David Simon’s Treme, just in case you are interested). EyehateGod are a really tight band and their production is mostly top notch. I love their lyrics and the nihilist attitudes they carry on their sleeves. I would not go so far as to say its better than “Dopesick” or “Take as needed for pain” but this is a very good album in its own right and it’s unfair to compare it to genre warping predecessors. The album has a lot of great moments and the overall composition is well balanced. The drumming is thunderous and the riffs pack a punch. Its easily on my top 10 list for AOTY 2014 but I am a biased fan. Do give it a listen though.

RATING: 4/5 (This mighty tome will resurrect the dead, but it may not turn lead to gold )

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Grand Magus – Triumph and Power

Jun 19 • International News, Reviews, The Slumbering Ent • 3042 Views

Jayaprakash Satyamurthy reviews the new album from Grand Magus titled Triumph and Power, released via Nuclear Blast.

Artwork by Anthony Roberts (Check more of his stuff here)

If you’re anything like me, you like the idea of power metal, but find the execution lacking a lot of the time. Apart from the heyday of US power metal, when every band was a veritable posse of feisty Cimmerian berserkers, there is a tendency for the genre to get bogged down in faux medeival minstrelsy, AoR tinged balladry and the same old polka melodies that have been ruining much of mainstream Euro metal for a while.

So it’s often the bands who hit upon the power metal aesthetic aslant, as it were, that hit the spot. Cases in point would be Doomsword and Ironsword, both of whom have imbibed healthy doses of epic metal, doom and even some of that Motörheadboogie in the latter case.

Grand Magus fits firmly into this slot. Billed as stoner or doom metal, for my money they fulfill the promise of the pnrase ‘power metal’ more consistently than many of the usual suspects. Which is not to say they’re beyond reproach – I thought the two albums after the mighty ‘Iron Will’ were very forgettable. On their fifthalbum, ‘Triumph and Power’, however, they deliver a fun, catchy album that delivers on the stirring, anthemic promise of its title. Heck, the album even has the word ‘power’ in its title!

The album gets off to a roaring start with ‘On hooves of gold’ which moves from an already catchy verse to an even more soaring and memorable chorus. ‘Steel versus steel’ is even better, and is about Michael Moorcock’s albino doomdealer, Elric, to boot. ‘Dominator’, about a tyrant and the tyrant in waiting who will depose him is a song that fairly bursts with the spirit of all those classic metal songs whose names end with the -ator suffix, you know the ones I mean. ‘The naked and the dead’ is another standout as is the epic, atmospheric album closer ‘The hammer will bite’.The remaining tracks are never less than serviceable and the instrumental ‘Ymer’ is one of the few marching tracks on a metal album that conjures an epic sense of valour and pathos rather than sounding like a rejected RPG theme song.

A few things make this album really work. First of all the guitar and bass both sounding crunchy and raw, not overprocessed at all. JB’s voice is rich and deep but can soar as well and the vocals and riffs capture both the thrill and glory of the mainly martial themes, and the underlying sense of tragic fate that marks all the great sagas. Most of all, this is a fun album. It won’t change your life, but it never overstays its welcome, and delivers a fierce, hook laden, stirring collection of metal songs. Triumph and Power indeed. And not a single sub-Maidenesque polka in hearing!

Rating: 3.5/5 (This hardy band is on the path to greatness. But only on the path. ) 

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