The debut EP of ex-SNUB member Ian Field-Richards is out tomorrow, and we just had to check it out and let y’all know what we thought about it. Ranging from doom to sludge to alt metal, I have a feeling I’m gonna love it!
The opening track, ‘Superlithic’, gets the grungy, doomy vibes started immediately with a HUGE riff. They really get the most of it too, us getting close to the halfway mark of the track before we get any vocals. The vocals fit perfectly over the top too, continuing on the stoner/doom sound. It’s heavy and sludgy in all the best ways, and they clearly wear their inspirations on their sleeve! We even get an awesome, almost evil-sounding guitar solo in the back end. It’s a great way to open the EP, and a must listen to any fans of the genre!
The same vibes continue through ‘Black River’. This one has a bit more of a standard structure to it, though, and has a surprisingly catchy chorus, both vocally and with the guitar riff. The riffing as a whole is of course a massive highlight of the EP; the band are amazing songwriters in that regard. However, the drums and vocals are also excellent. It’s another amazing doom song that, while doesn’t necessarily do anything special for the genre, is solid and massively enjoyable!
The title track starts a bit slower and quieter, only adding to the sinister feeling of the release. The heaviness soon comes in over the top, but it maintains the plodding pace, and it was nice to hear a bit more dynamics from the band, especially when it drops back down to quieter verses. The vocals sounded awesome over the top of them too, higher and cleaner, fitting just as well. It almost gives off The Sword vibes, which I love. Especially when it’s another catchy-ass chorus to boot! It’s an amazing song, and an easy highlight of the album that makes it onto our playlist!
The final two tracks on the EP, ‘Empire’ and ‘Southern Star’ are both more doomy awesomeness. Much like with’Black River’, neither exactly reinvent the doom metal wheel, so to speak, but are excellent songs in the genre and really encapsulate exactly what it’s about. The riffs are heavy and sludgy, the vocals gritty and the lyrics surprisingly great. This is certainly a release for the doom fans, and I loved every minute of it!
Overall: as I said, I loved this. The riffing was a massive highlight, but every element of the band is awesome, and each track was great. If you are a fan of doom metal I cannot recommend this album enough, and they are sure to be a massive name in the genre sooner rather than later with releases like me. This is one hell of a way to debut, and they instantly have a new fan in me. I can’t wait to see where they go next, but for now, it gets an easy…
The Score: 8.5/10