Although they’re actually from Ottawa, this doom duo is named after a former Siberian slave-labour camp now known as one of the most polluted cities on earth. Incidentally, it says here that Norilsk is “Home to the world’s largest heavy metal smelting complex,” which probably means it has a pretty decent metal scene. 😉
Alas, Norilsk the band only offers up two tracks on their debut EP, with a Voivod cover thrown in for good measure. Not that they normally play thrash—this is desolate death-doom, the kind of music you’d expect from a place where no trees grow for miles (and no, I’m not talking about the nation’s capital). The title track kicks off with an oft-repeated palm-muted riff before lurching into some downtuned doom riffage, think the sorta stuff that Jucifer plays live. Vocals are as low and guttural as you might expect, any lyrics completely undecipherable.
“Potsdam Glo” fades in with an eerie trad-doom riff that shows shades of Candlemass, before going into a sparse, gothic-style verse more reminiscent of Tiamat, especially in the vocal department. (Think Clouds or Wildhoney more than Skeleton Skeletron.) With two tunes that sound markedly different, you definitely can’t accuse them of simply playing the same riff for 20 minutes…
Oh, and that Voivod cover sounds pretty evil, too.
