And so we're back to Frownland, with yet another three-day-long album no doubt. I tell you one thing, nothing about this gives me any confidence that it will be either short or something I can get through. In fact, when I look at it images of
Dopesmoker* come back to haunt me. It's not even given running times on Metal Archives, and the title of each track on each side (!) of the album is exactly the same, so I have no idea what that's about..
Stoner Rock --- Bong --- 2014 (Ritual Productions)
Suggested by Frownland
I'm actually surprised, when I find this on GPM, to see that the whole album lasts only an hour, and both tracks are shown only once, which sort of makes sense. It starts off with a big feedback drony guitar, and to be honest I don't expect it to change too much as the first track, “Polaris”, gets underway. Seven minutes in, it's the same droning chords, but now there's a vocal, a spoken one, which alleviates the boredom a little. Sounds like something else may be joining the melody (I use the word extremely loosely, I assure you) but it's really too faint (or the guitar is too loud and overbearing) for me to confirm what it may be, if indeed it is anything. This is around minute eleven or so. We're now into fifteen and I still can't tell if I'm just listening to the main instrument or if there are others there in the background.
Good lord, this is boring. It's just the same phrase repeated for at this point twenty minutes. The few vocal contributions, such as they are, have long faded away and we're just listening to what sounds like a repeat loop, and it's not even an interesting one. At least Sleep had some slight variety in what they did, though Om* were about as bad as this. Another sixteen minutes of this FIRST TRACK to go... and it continues that way, no real change. The second track, “Out of the aeons”, brings in some sitar I think and also some more distinct percussion, but seems to be essentially a continuation of what we've had for the last half hour. And we've another half hour of it to go. There's slightly more of a melody to this one, and it's not quite as boring, but it is still very boring.
Oh, look! The speaking voice is back in the twentieth minute or so. At least it serves to alleviate the boredom a little, though not much. Nearly there, thank the gods. “Out of the aeons”? Seemed like it took fuc
king aeons before I could finally shut this crap off. Jesus!
TRACKLISTING AND RATINGS
1. Polaris
2. Out of the aeons
I'll be quick and simple (and brutal, but I don't care) here: bloody awful. However, with his newfound sensitive nature about his recs, I'll admit this is just a case of not being for me. No doubt tons of you would or will love this, and to each his own, but I prefer a bit more structure and variety in my music. For me, had this been in the Torture Chamber I probably would have crumbled. A missed trick for you again, Batty! That was not torture, not in the way Ki's poxy album was, but it was mind-numbingly tedious. I think I need some blackened death metal or something after that!
* Reviewed but not yet posted