Review
In case you couldn't already tell from their name, or their album name, Belzebong is a stoner doom band. What might be a surprise is, they're from Poland.
Sonic Scapes & Weedy Grooves is the first full-length from a band that's decidedly mellower than their countrymen Behemoth
and Vader. If you've ever heard Electric Wizard or Weedeater, you're thinking exactly on the right track. It's fuzzier than Georgia peaches covered in hallucinogenic fungus, heavier than the Half Ton Man, and just as likely as him to get off the couch after eating said fruit.They lay down massive grooves that get your whole body swaying, and they know how to write a riff. Like Weedeater, they keep it short (it's only a half hour) and eschew the long, meandering ambient sections of EW. Going instrumental the whole way through was a gamble, but I think it paid off. They keep it interesting with plenty of riff and tempo changes, a couple of samples (from occult horror movies or 50's anti-drug films), psychedelic leads and guitar noises, and feedback. Then they took these four great tracks and arranged them perfectly into a cohesive whole. It's almost like they were sober enough to know what they were doing.
The Verdict: Given the pacing of the album, and its complete lack of fat, this may be my favorite of the style to come out in quite some time. Plus, it's available for just $5 on their Bandcamp. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
This is right up my alley, thanks for the find. Awful name for an album though!
ReplyDeleteI think it's a pretty good name, but has just a hint of "English is not our first language" to it.
ReplyDelete