Destructive Music
When Russian band Evoke Thy Lords first started they plied their trade along the more Gothic doom metal trail, inspired as they were by Lovecraft and the world of dreams. Now in 2013 whilst the message has not changed totally the sound certainly has, with a groovier and darker edge to things Evoke Thy Lords new album “Drunken Tales” out through Solitude Productions has a far more stoner/death doom feel too it.
When Russian band Evoke Thy Lords first started they plied their trade along the more Gothic doom metal trail, inspired as they were by Lovecraft and the world of dreams. Now in 2013 whilst the message has not changed totally the sound certainly has, with a groovier and darker edge to things Evoke Thy Lords new album “Drunken Tales” out through Solitude Productions has a far more stoner/death doom feel too it.
The musical path Russians Evoke Thy Lords are following is really not so common. Founded in 2002 in Novosibirsk, the biggest city of Siberia, the band, on its first release in 2008, played a punchy kind of Gothic Metal festooned with interesting folky touches. Five years later, here comes the band with its sophomore album, 'Drunken Tales', and what have you got? Stoner Doom! The connection between Gothic and Stoner isn't really obvious, apart from their respective links with the Doom Metal genre, making it a pretty strange metamorphosis to say the least.
It's a metamorphosis which could also become quite a controversial topic when thinking about it: let's be honest, the whole Stoner/Sludge/Psychedelic scene has become pretty popular these days, and this evolution could be seen by some as an opportunistic move…
Fortunately, this new album is good enough to make me forgive anything. If you're already familiar with the band, you'll quickly notice that they still make good use of some ingredients that could already be found on their debut. First, the vocals: Alexey Koslov's growl is an interesting testimony to the Doom Death roots of the band, despite the album being largely instrumental. It's especially noticeable on 'Cause Follows Effect' - the final track (which was also part of the Doom-Art.ru 2009 compilation and therefore is probably a little bit older than the other songs on 'Drunken Tales') - where the singer delivers a very guttural growl which gives the track an always-appreciated aggressive edge. This song, offered as a "bonus", also features a guest female singer, whose voice, while less technical and lyrical than the female singer's on the previous album, has a more sensual tone which perfectly fits the moods.
As on their debut, you also find here a flute player whose contribution softens Evoke Thy Lords' music a lot: it brings about enchanting melodies and a Progressive Rock edge which keeps the tracks interesting despite their length; to me, it is really one of the album's most captivating features, making it turn out to be much richer than expected - a little too rich for some perhaps… Be forewarned though: if you like your Stoner Doom ugly and raw this 'Drunken Tales' might not be your cup of tea, although the Russians manage to stay heavy enough to be enjoyed by the average doomster. In fact, the guitar and bass work is pretty solid: nothing really astounding, but it's groovy and massive as it should be.
To conclude, although it will not appeal to everybody, I can't really fault this second effort. Without being revolutionary, Evoke Thy Lords have succeeded in developing their own personality in an overcrowded genre, and offer us a good album making a kind of bridge between Blood Ceremony and Ramesses. A successful metamorphosis, then…
It's a metamorphosis which could also become quite a controversial topic when thinking about it: let's be honest, the whole Stoner/Sludge/Psychedelic scene has become pretty popular these days, and this evolution could be seen by some as an opportunistic move…
Fortunately, this new album is good enough to make me forgive anything. If you're already familiar with the band, you'll quickly notice that they still make good use of some ingredients that could already be found on their debut. First, the vocals: Alexey Koslov's growl is an interesting testimony to the Doom Death roots of the band, despite the album being largely instrumental. It's especially noticeable on 'Cause Follows Effect' - the final track (which was also part of the Doom-Art.ru 2009 compilation and therefore is probably a little bit older than the other songs on 'Drunken Tales') - where the singer delivers a very guttural growl which gives the track an always-appreciated aggressive edge. This song, offered as a "bonus", also features a guest female singer, whose voice, while less technical and lyrical than the female singer's on the previous album, has a more sensual tone which perfectly fits the moods.
As on their debut, you also find here a flute player whose contribution softens Evoke Thy Lords' music a lot: it brings about enchanting melodies and a Progressive Rock edge which keeps the tracks interesting despite their length; to me, it is really one of the album's most captivating features, making it turn out to be much richer than expected - a little too rich for some perhaps… Be forewarned though: if you like your Stoner Doom ugly and raw this 'Drunken Tales' might not be your cup of tea, although the Russians manage to stay heavy enough to be enjoyed by the average doomster. In fact, the guitar and bass work is pretty solid: nothing really astounding, but it's groovy and massive as it should be.
To conclude, although it will not appeal to everybody, I can't really fault this second effort. Without being revolutionary, Evoke Thy Lords have succeeded in developing their own personality in an overcrowded genre, and offer us a good album making a kind of bridge between Blood Ceremony and Ramesses. A successful metamorphosis, then…
Tröttnar man på att rida sin snigel uppe i de kalla bergen kan man gå och ta sig ett par järn i baren hos Evoke Thy Lords.
Stoppa mig om ni hört den förut: En präst, en rabbi och en astronaut kommer in på en bar.
Jag vet inte var det är, men vart helst astronauter samlas för att dricka i surmulen tysthet eller berätta stjärnseglarskrönor är en plats där jag garanterat trivs. Det ser ut, på killen till höger om Christer Fuglesang, som om de har Guiness också. Dessutom pyntar de väggarna med Ufomammut, det blir som att sitta på Püssy A Go Go nere i Liffeys källare och bara mysa. (För den som vill spendera tid med att försöka lista ut vad fan tavlan till vänster föreställer, eller vad de har på flaskan så har ni en stor version av omslaget här.)
Not too long ago I asked some nice people to recommend me some stuff that I can listen to while reading and someone recommended Evoke Thy Lords , these guys play Psychedelic Sludge/Doom with a high dose of Southern Rock-influenced groovity ( not a word , not in a million years ) which makes the music very enjoyable . now imagine , I'm reading some epic fantasy novel with men dying like leaves falling from a tree and women getting raped all the time for no apparent reason ( yes , I'm reading A Song of Ice and Fire ) ... and all of a sudden I notice a subtle FLUTE in the middle of Evoke Thy Lords' already-appealing sound ... It was almost like trying to watch CNN while a band is playing in your living room , it'd be cruel not to give all your attention to the "Drunken Tales" , if not impossible . but after I got familiar with it , I realized it actually works great as back-ground music too.
While the continual flute-thing is definitely interesting , it's not the most original thing in the world and it's not likely to make or break an album ... it's the whole mix that works really well , this is one of those rare albums that you wish were longer ... for all I care they could release a triple album and it still would work , you can put "Drunken Tales" on repeat for as many hours as you need ... it's like going going down a stairwell that never ends , craving so hard for what lies at the bottom ... this thing is psychedelic after all.
These musicians seem to rely on their wits more than anything else , I mean look at that cover art .. and that green weird font , if you are open-minded enough to find that brilliant for a Sludge/Doom album , you will enjoy this ... I promise.
Se vi chiedessi di pensare all’ultimo strumento che vi aspettereste di trovare nella formazione stabile di una band stoner-doom, credo ci siano buone probabilità che la risposta possa essere “il flauto”. Ecco quindi un primo motivo di interesse che spinge all’approccio con questo combo siberiano, al loro secondo lavoro dopo, come si legge nelle note disponibili in rete, una longa pausa che ha portato ad un radicale cambiamento nel suono, partito da basi di doom/death melodico, per approdare al curioso e originale ibrido racchiuso in questo cd. Già la copertina ha un che di allucinatorio, con un astronauta – tributo nemmeno troppo velato ai grandissimi Sleep – intento a prendersi una solenne sbornia seduto a un bancone di cui voi siete il barista, che sembra sul punto di raccontarvi la propria vita.
Quello che si ascolta nel corso dei quattro lunghi brani che compongono il lavoro è un mix inaudito di classici riffoni stoner-doom (l’opener “Routine of Life”), parentesi bucoliche e quasi trance, dominate dall’effetto straniante del flauto (“Dirty Game”), e digressioni post rock lente e circolari (“Dregs”). A complicare le cose ci si mette una cantato growl ultratombale, tenuto però ben sepolto nel missaggio, tanto che l’impressione finale è quella di avere a che fare con un disco strumentale. Detto così mi rendo conto che potrebbe sembrare un pasticciaccio, ma ben presto vi sorprenderete ad abbandonarvi al flusso ipnotico che sgorga dai vostri speaker, trasportati da una corrente lisergica e multiforme.
Rimane da dire di una bonus track (“Cause Follows Effect”), anch’essa molto lunga, che si distacca dall’atmosfera del resto del disco (e risulta anche meno interessante, almeno per i miei gusti) rimanendo ancorata a stilemi doom/death più classici, nella quale il cantato cavernoso è affiancato da suggestive voci femminili e tappeti tastieristici. In definitiva, quindi, un lavoro molto originale, nel quale forse è insito il pericolo che l’effetto sorpresa si esaurisca in fretta, costringendo la band russa ad aggiustare nuovamente il tiro in futuro. Ma per il momento va bene così. (Mauro Catena)
Stoppa mig om ni hört den förut: En präst, en rabbi och en astronaut kommer in på en bar.
Jag vet inte var det är, men vart helst astronauter samlas för att dricka i surmulen tysthet eller berätta stjärnseglarskrönor är en plats där jag garanterat trivs. Det ser ut, på killen till höger om Christer Fuglesang, som om de har Guiness också. Dessutom pyntar de väggarna med Ufomammut, det blir som att sitta på Püssy A Go Go nere i Liffeys källare och bara mysa. (För den som vill spendera tid med att försöka lista ut vad fan tavlan till vänster föreställer, eller vad de har på flaskan så har ni en stor version av omslaget här.)
While the continual flute-thing is definitely interesting , it's not the most original thing in the world and it's not likely to make or break an album ... it's the whole mix that works really well , this is one of those rare albums that you wish were longer ... for all I care they could release a triple album and it still would work , you can put "Drunken Tales" on repeat for as many hours as you need ... it's like going going down a stairwell that never ends , craving so hard for what lies at the bottom ... this thing is psychedelic after all.
These musicians seem to rely on their wits more than anything else , I mean look at that cover art .. and that green weird font , if you are open-minded enough to find that brilliant for a Sludge/Doom album , you will enjoy this ... I promise.
Rimane da dire di una bonus track (“Cause Follows Effect”), anch’essa molto lunga, che si distacca dall’atmosfera del resto del disco (e risulta anche meno interessante, almeno per i miei gusti) rimanendo ancorata a stilemi doom/death più classici, nella quale il cantato cavernoso è affiancato da suggestive voci femminili e tappeti tastieristici. In definitiva, quindi, un lavoro molto originale, nel quale forse è insito il pericolo che l’effetto sorpresa si esaurisca in fretta, costringendo la band russa ad aggiustare nuovamente il tiro in futuro. Ma per il momento va bene così. (Mauro Catena)
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