SKYPILOT - Monument
The other day I received a CD copy of SKYPILOTS – Monument.
First up I noticed the slick packaging and artwork and had high hopes for this before I even hit play.
So what did I think of it....
A confident blend of bands like Tool, Fu Manchu and Dozer, this is Progessive Stoner Punk without the Punk Rock Guilt.
Skypilot sound like a band on a mission and execute that very mission statement loud and clear creating an emotional powerhouse of rolling drums and monster riffs.
Monument is a “stomper” of an album,
I love the freeness the guys give to the songs letting the music flow and breathe before taking you off in a new direction, from heavy chunky in your face sections to swooping melodic-scapes of sound, interchanging between both in a instant and adding to the overall epic-ness on the album.
Skypilot have really put the work in on this one.
The production is immense and polished but still allowing the raw groove of Skypilot to shine. The drums and bass really stand out which is essential for what is being created here, this allows for the cool guitar riff's and vocals to fly effortlessly over the top of the solid backline and add the color.
Inturn creating the Melodic, Moody, Powerful, In your face sound of a great band.
To me tracks like Stomper, the later section of Blender & Turkey Ham really showcase some Tool influenced grooves and there are enough infectious riffs and monster drum fills in here to keep the listener hooked and going back for more.
Produced by SkyPilot & Frankie McClay
Artwork & Design by Glynn Smith
SkyPilot:
Dave Hall – Guitar/Vocals
Garry McConnell – Drums
Gareth Ruddock - Bass
Track Listing:
1.Stomper
2.Bender
3.Turkey Ham
4.Get to the chopper
5.Whatever He Hits He Destroys
6.Lincoln Hawk
7.Right Turn Cycle
8.Celeritas
9.Monument
10.Lifter.On
www.myspace.com/skypilotrocks
Stoned Baby Rating:
.5
/
5Elder - Self Titled
Elder are a 3 piece hailing from Boston. Smothered in doomed fuzz and destroying all in sight with their impressive soundscapes.
This is one inspiring debut from a band with solid musicianship and the song writing skills to back it all up.
The similarities to Sleep, Sabbath and the Wizard are very evident here, with long slow grooves, trippy solos and mystical lyrics.
But rather then copy these great bands, Elder add and build on it
From the get go I was hooked on this album. Each track blending nicely into the next, each with its own stand out quality getting better as the album progresses.
Stand out tracks:
White Walls, Riddle Of Steel Pt. 1
The vintage sounding production on this album adds to the whole Elder psychedelic doom experience.
With slabs of groove and fuzz Elder deliver and you will not be disappointed.
Track listing:
1. White Walls
2. Hexe
3. Riddle Of Steel Pt. 1
4. Ghost Head
5. Riddle Of Steel Pt. 2
www.myspace.com/beholdtheelder
Stoned Baby Rating:
/ 5
Brigantia double review,Harvest Moon Music & Doom Metal Allience
Harvest Moon Review.
Chronicles of Doom
(2008)
self-financed
From Ireland's County Tipperary comes and interesting new doom metal band called Brigantia. Getting together in 2007, the trio of Dave Gleeson (vocals, guitar), Neill Nevin (bass), and John Clarke (drums) have released their first recording in the form of the appropriately titled Chronicles of Doom demo. Being their first stab at putting together a recording, the production isn't top-notch but it doesn't really have a significant negative impact on the music. Brigantia's identity overcomes the studio deficiencies and stands out sharply, making Chronicles of Doom an intriguing demo.
What interests me most about Brigantia's sound, aside from the clear Cathedral influence, is the similarity to the style of doom the lads of Type O Negative put forth early in their career. Even before they adopted the blatant Gothic image, Type O was known for lavishly distorted riffs, serpentine time changes, and Peter Steele's angered vocals (far different from his now-famous bass). Gleeson's riffs on Chronicles of Doom are a tad groovier than those on early Type O releases, but familiar distortion tricks can be heard here and there though they he uses them more sparingly than does Kenny Hickey. The time changes, however, run rampant among the demo's five tracks. While mixing things up too much can really bring an album down, it's a testament to Brigantia's songwriting ability that Chronicles of Doom never falters or meanders off track. Instead, each song is full of little nuances that tend to offer something new each time the disc is spun - which to me is a sign of excellent craftsmanship.
As skillful as Gleeson is on the six-string, I won't dare say that he possesses equal vocal ability to Peter Steele. Perhaps partly due to the weak production, Gleeson's voice comes of as being a little thin overall. He's not a powerful singer, but he does convey a feeling of desolation very convincingly. Augmenting his clean delivery is an occasional bark or howl, while "Better Dead Than Red" finds him snarling his way through the more up-tempo sections of the song with a throaty death metal menace.
Even after many listens I had a difficult time isolating a single track as my favorite, since they all have plenty to offer. Whether it's the galloping, groovy riffs on "Churn The Sea", the bold bass lines on "Better Dead Than Red", or the overall sense of hopelessness created by "Definity Found", there's much to like about this demo. They're not necessarily breaking any new ground with Chronicles of Doom, but Brigantia is a very talented band that has a lot to offer metal fans. I'm excited to hear what these guys can do with proper production, so here's to hoping a label snaps Brigantia up soon.
Reviewed 11/27/2008
Track Listing
1 Inseminoide 4:39
2 Churn The Sea 4:07
3 Definity Found 5:19
4 Ride To The Sabbath 4:41
5 Better Dead Than Read 5:42
Total running time: 24:28
Doom metal alliance review
Category: Music
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Review of the "Chronicals of Doom" EP by Brigantia
Brigantia was a goddess in Celtic religion, meaning "The High Goddess". With that said, Im sure you know you are in for a stoner treat. The band (a three piece from Ireland) draws a big influence from Catherdal on their debut EP entitled "Chronicals of Doom". This influence stands out most tracks like "Inseminoid" and "Ride To The Sabbath" (even the title sounds like a Cathedral song). In fact, the whole album sounds like what Cathedral may have been playing in between recording Forrest Of Equilibrium and the Ethereal Mirror.
While Brigantia's sound is definately influenced by stoner rock/metal , one cannot deny that there is more doom than stoner rock in their sound. The best example of this is the EP's third track "Definity Found". Clean vocals sung to a sombre verse break into a chorus with more of a gutteral quality, that drives home the sence of pleading until it breaks down into a full out burst of rage.
This debut is impressive I must say. I am not aware of many doom metal bands that have come out of Ireland; but if this is an indicator of what is to come, I will be keeping my ears open. The song writing skills displayed by Brigantia are very appealing, and I for one look forward to what this band will release in the future
D.
Nation Under Siege reviewed on Metal Storm
Metal Storm review below:
Black of The South – Nation Under Siege
01. Unleashed
02. Overcomming Tyranny
03. Turmoil
04. Nation Under Siege
Hard Rock / Southern Rock
Label: ATG Media
Ireland: 2008
Length: 16:52
Line-Up on the CD:
Vocals: Jordan
Guitars: Gary
Bass: Sean
Drums: Cozzy
If I should give you the name of a country which still believes in Hard Rock, I would give you without any hesitation the name of Ireland. Maybe that some of you have heard some stuff about The Answer (if not you should have a look at it) but there is also a lot of other bands in the country which play this kind of music and Black Of The South is one of them! 'Nation Under Siege' is their last demo and even if it's not really original and suffers of an average production, this is a good debut for those young Irish dudes.
Black Of The South plays classic Hard Rock with strong Southern Rock influences. If you want to understand how it sounds, you have to know that 'Nation Under Siege' is a good mix between Hard Rock with big riffs a la Black Label Society. They're not so violent though and are more into the side of Hard Rock but their music is cool and full of good riffs. This is good Rock N Roll with strong melodies and catchy choruses but this is not 'happy' like Airbourne and definitely the music of BOTS is a lot more angry and dark. Our guys have things to say and their music is clearly influenced by this spirit. We have good soli, good heavy riffs and a good Rock N Roll attitude on this release but of course there is nothing really new on this demo. That's the problem with the bands which chose to play Hard Rock, they're cool and their music is always pleasant but they're not really original (at least on their first releases…).
The problem with 'Nation Under Siege' is that the demo suffers of a really average recording. This is a bit amateurish when you have a look on what the majority of the newcomers are able to do now. I'm not saying that it's terrible though but the band clearly deserve a better sound and I hope that they will be able to have better means of production in the future. Also, the singer can do the best like the worst. Sometime his voice is really good with a good tune but some other times this is simply out of tunes. One more time this is not really problematic, this is just a demo and I'm sure that the guys will be better with time.
'Nation Under Siege' is not really surprising but our dudes are not bad at all and if they can fix the little problems that we can hear on this release I'm sure that it will be a lot- more convincing. Right now I cannot talk about revelation but they have good ideas and I like the 'dark' attitude of their music so let's keep an eye on Black Of The South and I'm sure that we will have something nice through their next production.
Performance: 7
Songwriting: 7
Originality: 6
Production: 6