Ladies and gentlemen, we have just landed at Aéroport de Metz-Nancy-Lorraine in the Lorraine region in north eastern France. Once through customs there will be transportation waiting for you bound for Nancy and this tête-à-tête with Wheelfall. 6 songs clocking in at over 56 minutes the band put the pedal to metal storming through some very heavy tunes somewhat akin to the mighty Kyuss in places. However Wheelfall brings in elements of sludge and jam sessions creating a new, different touch which makes them stand out. Guitarists Fabien W. Furter and Cactus Flo have something interesting going on throwing out some very cool and great riffs all while trading nice licks back and forth.
It's extremely refreshing to listen to Interzone knowing the band have worked hard at evolving a great but sometimes limited genre. What I mean is too many bands sounds identical to Kyuss and they only rehash the same riffs. Wheelfall are dead set on doing their own thing and succeed they do. I love The Parasite Ravages where Fabien sounds kind of like David Sherman of Earthride and Weed Is Weed. Great stuff!
It's time to get onboard the train that will take us to Liège-Guillemins, the railway station in Liege, Belgium where Deuil are waiting to meet up with us. And meet us they do and then some. Coming on like a shamanistic gathering Appcetance is slow, unrelenting and punishing but when Renaud grabs the mic Deuil step it up slightly entering the world of sludge. However, since the track is 20 minutes the band utilizes every second of it shifting through various emotions, tempos and styles creating something other-wordly. Hell, mid-way through they've touched upon sludge, doom and black metal with a little bit of transcendentalism thrown in for good measure. And they manage to keep it cohesive and very interesting.
Consisting of only two songs the EP is rounded off with Rebuild. Only 10 minutes long it starts the same way as it's predecessor with a chanting intro before the music enters the frame. That's when they step away from Acceptance and opt for a mix of post metal/black metal and it is fantastic.
Time to get back on our Boeing 747 which this time is heading for Landvetter Airport just outside of Göteborg, Sweden and our meeting with Galvano. A two-piece of bulldozing proportions the guitar-drums set-up puts the whole sludge movement in a different light. And that's apparent already in the opener Abysmal. Adding perfect doses of metal and doom into the mix it makes their take on the genre a whole lot more vibrant and organic...and goddamned it fucking rocks!
Changing it up this way and also by adding a bit more speed Two Titans is a master piece in the making. I do like sludge but it can bore the life out of me going at it at 2bpm. Galvano has side stepped this elegantly with all the additions they have made. Therefore when they do hit proper sludge mode it's interesting instead of sleep-inducingly boring. Awesome stuff and a great release! Mer av den här varan grabbar!
Alright, we're airbourne again this time heading east to Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport in Tallinn, Estonia. To be honest Estoner is the first band from this country I have ever heard of but what an awesome surprise. What these guys bring to the table is an amalgamation of Kyuss, rock'n'roll, grit, heaviness and a whole lot of acid trips. I won't go as far as saying they are breaking new ground, however they are extremely good at what they are doing and I love every minute of The Stump Will Rise.
Consisting of 7 songs the total playing is just over 50 minutes making it fairly long. But since Estoner are as good as they are there's never a dull moment and it never drags along. Taking the whole stoner movement to their hearts is easy to decipher first of all with the music but also in the song titles...Greenseeker, Darth Vader Has A Hangover, Level 5 Wizard and LSD Vampyr and you know what I am talking about. Love it, love it, love it!
Okay everybody settle in well now because it's time to take off for our last destination, Manzanillo Airport, close to Ciudad Guzmán in Jalisco, Mexico. Get some well deserved rest before we touch down since our hosts Annimal Machine are waiting to rip our heads off with their furious stoner sludge EP....simply called EP. Opener Condenado is a maelstrom of nothing but punishing riffs and bone-shattering heavy-ass dual play from the bass and drums. On A Fistful Of Dollars they go sludgy, kind of crawling along but still they keep it heavy.
Hell yeees! The main riff on their last song Rage is a neck-breaker indeed...not that it's fast instead it's so unrelenting and inviting to break your neck headbanging. Damn, think I have to put a neck brace on y'all. I don't know much about Mexican bands but it any one them are like Annimal Machine then Mexico has something very good going on.
It's time to go our separate ways fellow Air Ripple travellers. I do hope you have enjoyed out little trekk around the world in search of quality stoner and sludge bands. Make sure to keep your eyes open for our next musical adventure and book your ticket as soon as possible. Because you don't want to miss out you hear?
--Swedebeast