With a name like Drug Honkey, you know it’s gotta be good. Although you were probably expecting some slow southern sludge à la Weedeater or the Wisconsin drug trip of Bongzilla, what we’ve actually got here is effects-laden psychedelic death/doom that comes off as a cross between Winter and Sons of OTIS… and yet, I’m not complaining.
Cloak of Skies is actually album number five from this Chicago outfit, although it’s been five years since the last one, and none have been widely released. (I suppose you’d never expect to see a Drug Honkey LP at WalMart—honkeys doing drugs, well, that’s another story…) This 50-minute effort starts off in a “Pool of Failure,” an oozing, doomy sludge that brings Winter to mind. “Sickening Wasteoid” is slightly more synth-driven, with crackling electronic effects placed prominently in the mix. The vocals come in as a whisper, with a swirling effect similar to Sons of OTIS… which suits the industrial-tinged verses, though they do get lost a bit in the heavy chorus.
“Outlet of Hatred” sorta sounds like Type O Negative—if they were fronted by Justin Broderick singing underwater (he actually provides a remix of “Pool of Failure” at the end of the album). There’s some solid heavy riffs and doomy atmospherics on this one, but I think it might sound better with someone who sounds a little more like Peter Steele.
“The Oblivious of an Opiate Nod” is the trippiest track on here, clocking in at an even 10 minutes. It starts off sorta sounding like a post-rock piece, before the super-sludgy vocals come in just shy of the two-minute mark, accompanied by a desolate, drum/synth landscape. The vocals get louder as the riffs come in, leading to an unsettling cosmic doom experience—that’s pretty much the album in a nutshell.
https://drughonkey.bandcamp.com
