Well, it seems the Swedish stoner-rock sound has seeped across the sea to Finland. Craneium hails from Turku, and has been kicking around for five years now, although this is the first record of theirs to make it across the pond. It’s not hard to hear why — fans of the classic Lowrider/Truckfighters sound will certainly want to pay attention to this one.
“Imperial Duster” gets the record off to a groovy start, with some super heavy breakdowns right off the bat, before settling into more of a mid-paced, laid-back attack à la Truckfighters, served with a side of Fu Manchu. The chorus is catchy as une phoque, and, what with it’s six-and-a-half-minute runtime, it receives several repetitions. “Meet on Mars” opens with an eerie organ, before dropping down to a sparse, doomy verse, culminating in a heavy chorus.
Eight-minute epic “Tzar Bomba” offers up some serious desert rock worship, with a whole buncha head-nodding riffs. And the riffs keep on coming on killer tunes like “Demon of the Sands,” “Dr. Plague” and “Witch Coven,” which gives off a bit of a Pentagram vibe. Man, I’d never heard of these guys before, but I’d definitely keep an eye out for their next record!
