After a few minutes of feedback things pick up and show that this is some thick and rocked out doom metal from The Netherlands. It's fairly slow, but not too slow, and it's heavy, but there's a lot of 70's rock in there as well, both tonally and as far as the riffs. But I feel that they keep those influences under wraps enough to where the guitar parts don't sound entirely derivative. The vocals are excellent raspy "singing" (barely) that rests on the line with yelling or shouting or something... really unique and highly effective there. I'm not sure the songs all need to be six to eight minutes long as they don't necessarily warrant that, but they pull it off in large part with effective repetition and changes. I think layering dual guitar parts would add another level to the songs and make them a bit more creative, which might be nice to hear. "The Apocalypse Machine" brings in some clean guitars for a brief passage, before introducing some thicker and far more sinister chords than the other songs employed, making for a dark and powerful composition. The songs were recorded live in the studio, and it sounds great for what it is. You can hear all of the instruments clearly, the mix is pretty even, the guitars are textured and gritty but also very thick and warm, etc. Even if it were a proper full-length I could live with this sound as it makes perfect sense in regards to their style of playing. The CD-R comes in a slim jewel case with a purple xeroxed booklet that has simple artwork and text, and a smaller brown insert with a photo and contact information. It's not that interesting, but it gets the job done for the most part. I think the lyrics are good for the atmosphere of the music, though. "Seemingly motionless doom machines, Linger in shadows of purgatory, Black blood runs through my arteries, Feeding on my human batteries, We're just machines trying to get by, robots with lives, Your world has died." Not bad at all. I'd like to hear more from this band at some point. Whatever they do they should hold onto their vocalist with all their might, because his voice is impeccably well suited for this style of doom. Fans of the Southern Lord type of sound should keep an eye on this one.
[self-released]
Running time - 21:57, Tracks: 3
[Notable tracks: The Apocalypse Machine]
Lahar - http://www.circlesix.com
