Band: Dopethrone
Album Dark Foil (2011)
Genre: Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal
Hailing from Montreal, Quebec (CA), and taking their name from arguably one of the heaviest and influential doom/sludge releases of all time, Dopethrone aims to raise the bar of expectation from said genre with their sophomore release, entitled Dark Foil - And they succeed!
Brazenly heavy, and unapologetically evil sounding, almost everything about this album kicks major ass. I guess I'll just start with the basics. Dark Foil is a rather simple album that works to salvage something atmospherically higher (huh, huh). Right from the very beginning of the album, when the film sample plays and the distorted groove of the first song kicks in, a chill will creep up your spine, moving up your neck, possessing you to bang you head in compliance with Satan. Basically, this album sounds fucking evil! As much as I dig the greats such as Eyehategod, Sourvein, Grief, etc., and their misanthropic spin they engrain in the sloppy grooves of sludge, I can't help but blow a big fan-boy load in my pants, in regards to the overall "smoke weed, and worship Satan" sound that these guys create on this album. Various psychedelic solos like the one that can be found in the albums longest, and easily most groovy song "Zombi Powder," add a taste of ambiguity as they pull you through the song, which basically sounds like some trance-inducing mind-spell.
As far as the music goes, the band held very true to the genre of sludge and stoner metal alike. Crushingly slow and groovy riffs pave the way for the album while slowing down at points to display the more psychedelic aspect via guitar solo. The vocals are where the album gets a lot of it's evil sound and are rather reminiscent of black metal vocals. The slowed-down, drawn-out pacing of the album allows for some very epic, lasting screams. My ears were very pleased. The bass guitar isn't as heavily and fuzzily distorted as I would have hoped for, but that's just me being picky. At least I can say I hear the bass at all, which isn't always the case.
The production of the album is damn-near flawless. Everything sounds very crisp and clean on the recording. Some people can't get into this as much. They prefer the sloppy, "recorded in a basement" quality. I can't stress enough how much the production helps amplify the overall tone of the album. You can hear every groove, feel every distorted strum, and become engrossed completely in the album. The overall atmosphere thrives and lives through the production on this album. It sounds like Satan himself wrote it, and shit it out unto Earth.
If you are a fan of doom, sludge or stoner metal of any kind (Especially Electric Wizard, Weedeater, Bongzilla, etc.) I highly (huh, huh) recommend you finding this album. I'm not one to usually say this, but I do dare say that Dark Foil may be up there with the album the band got it's name from, and other great releases of the genre. Don't let this album slip past you. If so, I will find you, and eat you.
Score: 9/10
Brazenly heavy, and unapologetically evil sounding, almost everything about this album kicks major ass. I guess I'll just start with the basics. Dark Foil is a rather simple album that works to salvage something atmospherically higher (huh, huh). Right from the very beginning of the album, when the film sample plays and the distorted groove of the first song kicks in, a chill will creep up your spine, moving up your neck, possessing you to bang you head in compliance with Satan. Basically, this album sounds fucking evil! As much as I dig the greats such as Eyehategod, Sourvein, Grief, etc., and their misanthropic spin they engrain in the sloppy grooves of sludge, I can't help but blow a big fan-boy load in my pants, in regards to the overall "smoke weed, and worship Satan" sound that these guys create on this album. Various psychedelic solos like the one that can be found in the albums longest, and easily most groovy song "Zombi Powder," add a taste of ambiguity as they pull you through the song, which basically sounds like some trance-inducing mind-spell.
As far as the music goes, the band held very true to the genre of sludge and stoner metal alike. Crushingly slow and groovy riffs pave the way for the album while slowing down at points to display the more psychedelic aspect via guitar solo. The vocals are where the album gets a lot of it's evil sound and are rather reminiscent of black metal vocals. The slowed-down, drawn-out pacing of the album allows for some very epic, lasting screams. My ears were very pleased. The bass guitar isn't as heavily and fuzzily distorted as I would have hoped for, but that's just me being picky. At least I can say I hear the bass at all, which isn't always the case.
The production of the album is damn-near flawless. Everything sounds very crisp and clean on the recording. Some people can't get into this as much. They prefer the sloppy, "recorded in a basement" quality. I can't stress enough how much the production helps amplify the overall tone of the album. You can hear every groove, feel every distorted strum, and become engrossed completely in the album. The overall atmosphere thrives and lives through the production on this album. It sounds like Satan himself wrote it, and shit it out unto Earth.
If you are a fan of doom, sludge or stoner metal of any kind (Especially Electric Wizard, Weedeater, Bongzilla, etc.) I highly (huh, huh) recommend you finding this album. I'm not one to usually say this, but I do dare say that Dark Foil may be up there with the album the band got it's name from, and other great releases of the genre. Don't let this album slip past you. If so, I will find you, and eat you.
Score: 9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment