This is the second album from Kurokuma, a doom/sludge band from the UK.
Kurokuma have come a long way since they started, from 2016’s sludge/doom EP Advorsus which pegged them as ones to watch, to 2022’s more adventurous debut album Born of Obsidian. The band are now back with the 38-minute Of Amber and Sand, which finds Kurokuma pushing their experimental side even further, while retaining their core of heaviness.
Despite having 11 tracks, Of Amber and Sand only contains six songs, which as someone who loathes pointless interludes is a problem. They’re short though, so there’s that at least, and I can see the effect the band have gone for.
Ignoring these then, the actual songs are well-crafted. Kurokuma’s psychedelic sludge is heavy and rolls with a natural groove that flows freely when the band lock into it. It’s a detailed and inventive sound that Kurokuma have crafted though, with a range of textures and feelings spread out across the album. The promo tells us that the band have been influenced by “the instruments, melodies and rhythms of the Middle East/Balkans on this release”, which can be felt across the album in key places.
These new songs are heavier, more dynamic and energetic, and have more metallic components than the band’s debut. I can imagine them being crushing live. The riffs are huge and many are quite interesting too; they are works of expressive heaviness that bring the music’s different influences together well. Sludge, doom, post-metal, and psychedelic elements form the base, while other influences are built on this, (which includes even nu-metal and alternative metal from the 90s). The end result is a collection of songs that vary in their moods, paces, and feelings, while holistically all fitting within the Kurokuma framework.
Kurokuma would have been at home in the inventive post-metal/sludge landscape of the 00s, amongst bands such as Isis, Keelhaul, and Knut. Kurokuma have their own flavour, and fans of those sorts of acts would do well to seek them out.
Kurokuma continue to offer something different with their atypical style. Of Amber and Sand is their strongest and most versatile release yet, (despite the interludes), and it’s great to see the band carving their own path through the metal landscape.
Highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 