Monday, new week, time for us to hail a album with "Record Of he Week".
HÄXMÄSTAREN, the Gothenburg’s stoner/doom/sludge behemoths serves us with a release of their explosive sophomore album "Sol I Exil"!
HÄXMÄSTAREN is from Gothenburg, Sweden formed in early 2017. Debut album "Haexprocess" was released in 2018, and the band self released the follow up, "Sol I Exil" in March 12, 2021 and then they signed a deal with the Swedish Majestic Mountain Records for a proper release, the Vinyl got shipped in the end of August, where the wax came in a wicked, transparent gren and yellow haze. Almost looks like an eye of a "HÄXMÄSTARE", lol.
"Sol I Exil" is a flaming sledgehammer of stoner doom and blackened sludge, walking the thin line between blackened sludge and traditional heavy metal. Already from the opening tune "Blood Moon" they serve us with banging hard with breakneck riffage, whiskey soaked vocals that at times gets terribly angry, spits and hisses, the end result is brilliant. "Millennium Phenomenon" is a fablous piece with rumbling bass line and thundering drums along with some ferocious guitar playing, and serves us with a hypnotic guitar riff and searing solos that makes me cringe. "Wavelurker" and "Growing Horns" shows the blackened side of the band, here the musical influence palette gotten some more choices, where the mix of selected ingredients are very wise. The metal is still thick as syrup and wonderfully crunchy on the blackened parts. Where in "Children Of The Mountain" they set fire on the blackened side, the guttural growls haunts out it's own extremities with a surging energy. Some sludgy doom roots in "Dödskult Ritual" and the title tune "Sol I Exil", where the lyrics are sung in their Swedish mother tongue. The later one closes the album with a swinging groove, with some doomy vocals that burst out to the hallowed howls of the damned, cleavery musican ship between the members serves us marvelous drumming, clear and distorted bass and a bautiful guitar handeling. "Sol I Exil" is a marvelous album, highly recomended.
Sum: "Sol I Exil" is a top notch doomy piece that you can't miss!
Today's tune "Sol I Exil", the title tune from the new album, enjoy!
Monday, a new week and it's time to introduce "Record Of The Week".
The Swedish and Gothenburg-based heavy rock/doom metal band WOLVES IN HAZE will drop their second full-length album "Chaos Reigns", on Sept. 3 through Majestic Mountain and Tvåtakt Records. WOLVES IN HAZE was formed in 2014 and release their self-titled debut in 2016.
WOLVES IN HAZE is a new acquaintance, but after playing the promo I must say that I am very impressed.
"Chaos Reigns" opens up with "Green River Speaks", sea breeze, drums, and a black roar from the underworld start up the album until the thick guitars kick in. The vocals of guitarist Manne Olander is rough, melodic, and very comfortable and gives the steam roller exactly the lubrication it needs for impeccable rolling. The guitars of Manne Olander and Olle Hansson sound really nice and it's very difficult to stay away from playing air guitar. The rhythm section of the drummer and bassist Kalle Lilja gives the tune a great mix. At the first spin before I read all the intel about this I thought it was Feffe Berglund, singer from BOMBUS behind the microphone as they sound very similar at first sight. Nothing bad at all, love Feffe and now I love Manne. "Way In Haze" follows up with more furious guitar work in a very melodic way. The vocals are more strained, slightly pissed off but controlled and work out really good in this smasher. Followed up by "In Fire" where the tempo is screwed up a notch with a much harder and rawer approach, punkish, almost hardcore in a mix of REFUSED and RAISED FIST, to refer to some Swedish bands. In "The Night Stalker" drags WOLVES IN HAZE you down a filthy path of raucously raw, death metal-infused rock and bloody roll. Old school death metal riffs and some abysmal vocal parts by the guest singer Tomas Lindberg (AT THE GATES), the result is unexpected and very good. The heaviness continues in "Tormentor" where they pick the influences from the past. Halfway thru the album and it's time to slows down in "My Destroyer", where acoustic guitars along with a soulful duo vocal between a man and a woman that both are lurking in danger. The guest female vocalist is Martina Svärd from the Swedish psychedelic rock band TORNET. A beautiful piece to recharge the batteries for the next part of the album. With a steady attitude, we move on to "Beyond Perception", a dreamy melodic but still very riff-based. "Into The Grave" serves us a high tempo and power riffing piece which changes to more dirty punkish rock in "Heat Of The Moment" to then pull up collar a notch and invite us to a melodic riff party "Breath In The Night" until we reaches the end and it's time for the title track "Chaos Reigns" to tie this album together and end this in a completely magical way, an instrumental piece where they pick all the best pieces of their own creation and lets the instruments speak, where the chaos must be overcome at all costs and when we reach the crescendo by an electric force and evil has been defeated and a silence arises and chaos ceases to rule.
This is an excellent album, it's dirty, heavy, doomy, and punky! Really well-made album. Give it a spin and I promise you!
Once it spins for you, it will drag you down to its chaotic journey!
"Chaos Reigns" is produced, recorded & mixed by Kalle Lilja & Per Stålberg at Welfare Sounds. Assisting engineering by Olle Björk. Mastered by Daniel Johansson at Welfare Sounds Mastering. The band is strengthened up with the bassist Emil Rolof to be a full four-piece band.
