Major Kong - Doom for the Black Sun

Today’s review is of the new record titled Doom for the Black Sun by Major Kong, an instrumental doom/stoner act from Poland. It contains exactly the same three members as another Polish band called Fifty Foot Woman - Dominik Stachyra, Paweł Zmarlak, and Michał Skuła. Fifty Foot Woman was a sick Kyuss worship band, but that project is on hold at the moment while the band members concentrate on Major Kong. With the vocals neatly deleted, these three Poles are taking a jammier, more psychedelic, and considerably slower approach. Kyuss will always be present in these guys’ sound (I suspect), but Major Kong has more in common with the likes of Sleep, Electric Wizard and Acid King than anything else – the doomier side of stoner metal.

My general feeling about this album is that it’s good, but it doesn’t stand out. The production is not as chunky as Fifty Foot Woman’s and they haven’t managed to capture the groove of doom as well as they did with more straight up stoner metal. The best moments are the psychedelic guitar solos. “Primordial Gas Clouds”, my favorite song on DftBS, is one of the few moments where MK manage to capture a truly deadly groove and the psych jamming on lead and bass that rides on it is wicked. If the whole album upheld the quality of this song, it would be a real winner (though to be honest that song probably should’ve been a minute shorter). There are moments of awe scattered throughout the rest of the album, but as a whole it carries on in the same way for a little too long and breaks no ground on any terms. Movie samples are used several times, but I didn’t think any of them were particularly apt or funny. Seriously though, there’s more good than bad here. Kong have a straight-forward, honest style: slow, heavy, rock music. And I like that. But I still want them to gear up Fifty Foot Woman for a second round.

In summary: Not going to enter the ledgers of legends, but a very solid release that fans of the genre should certainly try.

Standout tracks: “Primordial Gas Clouds”, “Demolition Whale”

Score: 7.0

Listen

Buy

Radio Moscow & Earthless & Premonition 13

Volcom are known for their surf/skate/snowboard gear, but they also have a record label! Every year Volcom Entertainment Vinyl Club releases six limited edition records from various artists, usually stoner, psychedelic or punk rock. One from this year’s vinyls features Scott “Wino” Weinrich of Saint Vitus fame on it, as well as the awe-inspiring Earthless, so I decided to review it.

Earthless is not frigid black metal or punishing grindcore or swamp beast sludge, it’s not even metal at all – in short it’s are not the kind of music this blog is dedicated to. But damn! does this band gets me, and damn are they heavy. Although I’ve been known to love it, psych jamming is something in my opinion that is often done wrong, sometimes based on misguided heroic ideals, or more often than not falling into the ether of dudes getting high and playing together in the drummer’s mother’s garage, dreaming of money and fans, imagining the groupies and the outstretched arms, lost in a world of fantasy and love, one of the fatal consequences of reality that can happen when beauty and stupidity meet. But Earthless, no. Earthless does not fall victim to these pathetic weaknesses. Earthless think about one thing: How to rock the fuck out. This epic twenty-minute track is on the run, and it gets faster and faster. From the beginning the lead is improvising solos, and man, this guy (Isaiah Mitchell) is totally ripping it. Build up and break down and rock solidly til the very end. This is the concept here – deadly, as you can see. Epic fucking psych jams that hit home – BLAM!

Wino is a legend, as any true metalhead knows, and one of his newest projects, Premonition 13, contributes a fourteen-minute instrumental to the split. Quality psyched-out stoner jams roll along smoothly and solos glide calm and cool over the surface. Split into two segments each is satisfying, and falls closer to psychedelic rock than Wino’s trademark doom or stoner sound (though both are certainly integrated). This man has been rocking for years and it shows through in everything he does these days. “Noche Oscura”, the featured song, is yet another piece of evidence of his quality songwriting and musicianship, a fine piece of light metal to chill back to.

Radio Moscow finish it with the most retro vibes on the album, playing two tracks of Jimmy-esque psychedelic rock. This is not a band I’m familiar with, and personally it’s not my style, but these tracks are still pretty cool ‘70s emulations with on-the-mark musicianship. The first track is the only song on here with vocals, and apart from the production it could be straight off of a Zeppelin or Cream album. The second track is instrumental and I prefer this one as it finishes with some pretty trippy Middle Eastern sounding string instrument accompanied by lots of crazy drumming and wacky effects. However, it still sounds like music the music of an era gone stagnant and is my least favorite of the bunch.

In short: Psychedelic fans will love this. Although there’s really only a morsel of metal in here, it is truly a rocking collaboration. The vinyl is limited to only 1500 copies, so get it while you can!

Standout tracks: Earthless take the medal here hands down!

Score: 8.0

High on Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis

For once, High on Fire do not mince around with buildup at the start of an album. De Vermis Mysteriis (literally “book of worms”, was Bloch’s ficitonal Mythos tome of spells used to summon unworldly beings) gets straight into it on “Serums of Liao” and from there on out it’s smooth sailing. High on Fire are one of the most legendary bands kicking in the metal scene today, and the new album is here to solidly confirm that. The great thing about HoF is that they have been uncompromising in their style, and yet still always manage to show us a different facet of it with every release. Those of you who were disappointed by the increased accessibility of Snakes for the Divine will be glad to hear that HoF’s rough edge has fully returned and possibly in its most accomplished form yet. Certainly there are some of the group’s most blazing riffs of all time displayed, just check the second half of “Fertile Green” or “Romulus and Remus”. In fact, what we see here is an incredibly impressive stringing of great riffs, one after the next consecutively with very little letdown. Even many of the albums we love the most hold moments of tedium, or even wasteful filler, but not here. DVM ploughs on with the quality riffs until the end and almost never loses momentum. Another great thing about these guys is the way their breakneck pace somehow manages to perfectly conjure the great galloping of horses from your (my?) subconscious, an element that I believe gives it a more warlike character.

If you don’t know what to expect, you should - High on Fire are HUGE! Expect muddy stoner thrash with an epic vibe. For others, expect the same great song-writing and musicianship and expect more totally classic material. DVM fits snugly in with Blessed Black Wings and Death is this Communion as three of the best thrash or stoner metal albums of the millennium, but what we really see here is another chapter in a string of really great albums, all of which any true man wedded to metal must unequivocally own.

In short: In truth, an unnecessary review as this band is so awesome that everyone has either already bought the record or is currently saving pennies for it.

Standout tracks: “Serums of Liao”, “Madness of an Architect”, “King of Days”, “Romulus and Remus”

Score: 9.5

Conan - Monoss

If we study the cover art of the new Conan album and read the title, we are suggested ideas of massiveness; great, lumbering giants. One could never blame Conan of false advertising here, as contained in its mere 40-minute runtime there are some of the fattest, thickest, most devastatingly heavy riffs you’re ever likely to hear in your life. These three Liverpudlians are here to take the crown, don’t be mistaken, as Monnos is an absolute hulk of an album. Stoner/doom is rarely this good, but apparently this is more than just regular stoner/doom. This is “caveman battle doom”, a term that somehow accurately describes the atmosphere of Conan’s music. Conan is only a very new band, having been conceived in 2006, and this being their first full-length album.

The first thing that you’ll notice is the guitar tone. Holy shit! you’ll say to yourself, that’s fucking heavy. The guitar is just so lush and bass-laden that it alternates between chords with incredible smoothness, creating grooves that naturally course through your spine, forcing you to nod your head. It’s just such a deliciously huge sound, like massive weight coming down from above, and so damn well-produced, too. The vocals are almost always wielded dually; soaring, droning harmonies that add a slight element of post-metal to the sound, reminiscent of Baroness or Isis, but less progressive, more stylistically focused. The first half of the album slugs it out with lazy mid-paced stoner riffage and on the final three songs of the album things slow right down, each song like an impossibly huge titan slowly rearing its unbelievable carcass into sight.  Golden Axe in the middle is quiet – a moment of peace between battles. Headless Hunter hits slow, but eventually culminates in the most colossally epic stoner dirge you can imagine. Invisible Throne slows down even more, ending the album on a point nothing short of drone metal, and one of such monstrous gravity at that. But Monoss is not hard to listen to. Its grooves are too powerful and its guitar tones feel too damn good, and when you’ve been hypnotized by the singing your body involuntarily enters a state of trance-like lull.

What I’ve been meaning to say here is that this is a total no-brainer for anyone who likes heavy, slow music, and this will be the gateway for a large younger generation of metalheads to begin their newfound love for that which lumbers. Monoss is a perfect of example of why 2012 is going to be such a great year in metal – music that really raises the standards of quality and extremity. ABSOLUTELY LEGENDARY. I want more.

In short: Conan conjure up the imagery of epic battles and gargantuan beasts, and it just happens to be the heaviest fucking thing you’ve heard in quite a while, doomed ones. Lap it up.

Standout tracks: All are incredible

Score: 9.5