As you probably know, Gothenberg, Sweden is mostly known for death metal (In Flames, At the Gates, Dark Tranquility et al). Doom really isn’t on that city’s radar—not as far as I know, anyways. So when I hear about a young band from that neck of the woods who worships at the altar of Matt Pike, you can colour me intrigued.
Their four-track debut spans 33 and a half minutes, which may or may not make it an EP. “Fire Foretold” starts things off in fine fashion, sounding like High on Fire at its slowest from back in the day. That might as well be Matt Pike singing—this guy’s guttural snarl sounds virtually identical. “Emerald Eyes” follows a similar path, with some killer sludge riffs that sound a lot like Pike. Like its predecessor, this one also stretches past the seven-minute mark.
“The Ice Lord” also offers little variation in terms of pace and tempo, while “Release the Lava” stretches the same template out for almost 12 minutes. Don’t get me wrong, they really nail that sound—but even High on Fire plays some fast stuff sometimes.
RATING: 7
released on October 13
