Stoner Doom – Page 3 – Wonderbox Metal

Wolf Blood – Wolf Blood (Review)

This is the début album from US Doom Metal band Wolf Blood.

Wolf Blood play Doom Metal – a cross between Traditional Doom and Stoner Doom.

The tunes here are memorable and kicked out with obvious passion and no shortage of charisma. It’s a testament to the band’s talent that the melodies and riffs that the band perform sound both familiar and fresh; ancient yet vibrant.

A mix of Traditional Doom and Stoner Doom could theoretically have descended into the mediocre quite quickly but Wolf Blood manage to side step this pitfall by taking the best aspects of each. This has resulted in a collection of songs that have the power and majesty of Doom with the energy and drive of Stoner.

The band have a really warm, welcoming sound that embraces the listener with good feelings and Doomy vibes. It’s not too polished and keeps an underground feel but it does the band justice and the songs sound authentic and engaging.

There’s a lot to like here. Wolf Blood clearly know what they want to achieve and I think their début album succeeds in this.

Listen up Doomsters, there’s a new power in town.

Wo Fat – The Conjuring (Review)

Wo Fat are from the US and this is their fifth album of Doom Metal.

They have a warm sound that’s very welcoming and makes the listener immediately feel at ease; familiar but not overly so. This is Stoner/Psychedelic Doom in the traditional and spaced out way.

The singer has a good voice that seeps like honey over the rolling drums and infectious riffs. Speaking of, there are some glorious riffs to be had on The Conjuring.

And this is heavy. Joyously heavy. The guitars revel in themselves. Occasional solos snake their way in a lazily serpentine fashion across mountainous riffs that should get even the most jaded Metal fan moving.

The band seem to play these songs without any apparent effort, as if it is the easiest thing in the world to peel off colossal riffs with a beat that won’t quit. They give the feeling of being involved in one big jam, but one that’s coherent and focused enough to not sound a mess at all.

A real exploratory album full of trips to the heavy, fuzzy, scuzzy world of Wo Fat; the songs entice and captivate, culminating in the 17:00 monster that is Dreamwalker.

On the whole, very impressive and very enjoyable; a great listen.

Beehoover – The Devil And His Footmen (Review)

Beehoover are from Germany and are a drum/bass combo specialising in a peculiar brand of Stoner Doom.

The drumming is unrestrained and energetic, while the bass is inventive and fiddly. Their music sometimes reminds me of a stripped down Tool toying with technical Stoner riffs. Complicated and simple at the same time.

The vocals are quite unusual sounding; free-form and loose and very individual; although slightly reminiscent of Mike Patton in style if not in sound. The vocals infect the complex musicianship like an afterthought that has nonetheless grown in the spaces between the notes and developed into an undeniable part of the intricate structure of the songs.

Beehoover manage to fit a lot of stuff into songs that, in the hands of other bands, might be 15 minute epics; in Beehoover’s hands though they typically last about 4-6 minutes are certainly don’t suffer due to this fat-trimming.

This is an uncommon band who provide an uncommon listening experience; they are all the better for it.

If you fancy something unusual and interesting this could be for you.

Nefandus – Your God Is A Ghost (Review)

Nefandus are from Sweden and ply their Black Metal trade with passion and gusto.

Black Metal gone stoner doom? Not quite, although second track Temptress of Thantifaxath makes a damn good case for it. At least for the first part of the song and then it changes into a galloping NWOBHM-style riff followed by the stoner riffing once more with a nice solo on top. And this is only one of the four top-notch songs on here.

The remaining songs are more traditional than this one, but no less special for it. The riffs speak for themselves, and the band makes full use of them.

Favourite Track: Temptress of Thantifaxath. Variety is great especially when done well.

At less than 20 minutes this EP simply whets the appetite and leaves the listener wanting more. But ’tis better to have tasted the fruits than to never have known…