Brooklyn is probably not the first place that comes to mind when you think post-sludge. Me, I’m thinking Oakland, maybe Portland, definitely Chicago of late… But this trippy trio is coming straight outta Williamsburg on Bread Solstice, their debut LP, serving up six tracks in just over 40 minutes.
Mountain God’s Artificial Head debut
Some swirling riffs and heavy grooves get things underway on four-minute instrumental “Scaling the Silver Steps”—there’s some shades of Neurosis, Mammatus and maybe even Sleep. From there, the 11-and-a-half-minute “Nazca Lines” comes rolling up slowly, layering on some post-rock atmospherics, before hitting you with a heavy sludge riff and heavily distorted vocal about two-and-a-half minutes in. A rolling, chugging riff kicks in around 4:30, though tis but a brief respite from the oppressively heavy sludge attack. By the seven-minute mark, the screams turn to whispers, as the band takes a somewhat proggy turn. But then a moment of silence begets some of the slowest, heaviest riffs on this record, cutting through with a somewhat cleaner guitar tone. I think if Zoroaster was still going, they might sound something like this now.
The shorter, sludgier blast of “Karmic Truth” almost borders on black/death metal, with some particularly interesting drumbeats. But it still captures that blackened Midwest sludgy feel of an Indian or a Lord Mantis. “Junglenaut,” on the other hand, does not follow in the footsteps of “Supernaut” or “Dragonaut”—this one’s a bit of a snoozer, chockful of atmospheric effects. Likewise, “Unknown Ascent” sounds sorta like a post-rock take on The Exorcist theme, with whispered black-metal vocals to boot!
Nine-minute album closing “Hymn to Nothing” brings back the heavy with a Cisneros-style bass line off the bat, though this number is probably more OM than Sleep. Still some pretty decent riffs, though.
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Brooklyn-based doom trio Mountain God to release new album
