Sergeant Thunderhoof - Terra Solus (2018)

Kaleidoscopic Mushrooms from Outer Space

I stumbled upon Sergeant Thunderhoof a few months back while surfing through my YouTube feed. It was a music video of the band performing the first track off their debut full-length Ride of the Hoof. It sounded so effortlessly catchy and dynamic that I instantly

listened to the album as well as their first EP Zigurat. Technically the EP can be considered as a full-length since it clocks around 40 minutes or so. Anyway, both the releases not only met my initial expectations of finding a solid chunk of stoner metal but surpassed it as Sergeant Thunderhoof's unparalleled synthesis of Sabbathian grooves, transcendental psychedelia, and unpredictable hooky flair make them more than just a stoner rock band.

Enter Terra Solus, the sophomore full-length release by these psychedelic heavy rockers from Somerset, UK. It’s every bit of a consistent opus as their previous outputs and perhaps more sophisticated, diverse and expansive. Right off the bat the gigantic bottom-heavy Sabbathian lurch of “Another Plane” begins this loud, epic and trippy extraterrestrial journey. The pace and dynamic remain in the heavy territory with the thunderous riff-o-rama of “Stellar Gate Drive”. Even though this album is more of a cohesive, consistent piece of work with practically no filler, “The Tree and the Serpent” is still a definite highlight of the record for me. It’s a six-minute psychedelic spiritual trip surrounded with a hauntingly infectious verse-chorus structure carried remarkably by airy, bluesy reverberating rhythm section and Dan Flitcroft’s charismatic soulful vocals which peaks with Mark Sayer’s orgasmics leads. “Priestess of Misery” is another absolute favorite of mine. It’s a stupendous moody doom metal piece which shifts back and forth between sludgy grooves, haunting monolithic chorus and intense leads.

As I’ve stated earlier that Sergeant Thunderhoof is not easily categorizable, sure general genre adherents can associate them with the stoner/doom spectrum and I think the band is totally fine with that. But their emphasis on catchy grooves, huge chorus, psychedelic meanderings and overall memorable songwriting is as much aesthetically akin to Deep Purple, ZZ Top, Soundgarden as it is to Black Sabbath, Cathedral and Kyuss as well as Pink Floyd to some extent. A prime example of this is “Diesel Breath” which comes across as a groove-laden heavy rocker at first until the grinding metallic crawl of the bridge and the soul-searching Floydian culmination of the outro. 

“Half a Man” is a really different sort of piece altogether which evokes a ballad-like feel upon

first listen but It’s not really a ballad. It’s simply an introspective, heartfelt, quiet vocal-driven atmospheric tune. The dreamy, pensive psychedelia of “Om Shaantih” brings closure to the contrasting, kaleidoscopic trip that is Terra Solus. Call it metal, heavy rock, stoner, doom or whatever, Sergeant Thunderhoof is definitely one of the most original sounding entities out there right now and I hope that they will continue to impress us with their mercurial brand of heavy rock for years to come.


Terra Solus is scheduled to be released on May 12th. Pre-order is up on Bandcamp for limited edition vinyl, limited edition cassette, compact disc and digital download. You can stream the first track "Another Plane" via the Bandcamp attachment below.






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Pallbearer - Foundations of Burden (2014)

Bearing Naysayers with Pride:

Since the debut of the Arkansas doom quartet they've gained a fair amount of

acclaim as well as negligible number of naysayers. And like all wise minds Pallbearer too don't care about their detractors. That's why they're back with all of their defining traits in their sophomore effort. Foundations of Burden has all the characteristics of Sorrow and Extinction and a few fresh stylistic approaches to expand their sound into a new ground.

First of all the album is mixed by Billy Anderson whose reputation within the doomy domain of rock and metal is no secret. From Melvins' Houdini to Eyehategod's Dopesick he has produced some of the topmost classics in doom and its subcategories. And certainly his touch has made Foundations of Burden more dynamic and varied than its predecessor.

Let me make this clear that Pallbearer are not about groovy and meaty "let's get stoned" riffs. If you're expecting doom akin to Sleep's Holy Mountain or Cathedral's The Ethereal Mirror then this record is not for you (probably most of the naysayers are having this problem I guess). They have some echoes of Patrick Walker's former band Warning in terms of doom with emotional depth. But that's about it. Their approach to doom metal is all about creating a melancholic atmosphere and forlorn aura. Of course a lot of doom bands have done it in the past but Pallbearer's sound rings perfection. For instance, the tranquil and serene nature of "Ashes" where Joseph Rowland's piano led atmosphere and Brett Campbell's spaced out pensive vocals take control. Of course there are Phrygian riffing in all of their heavy compositions but as I've said they are not about the grooves or catchiness but to complement the grief-laden melodies.

"Worlds Apart" begins with a Katatonia like lead coated in lumbering drones. The definite highlight of this song is its masterfully crafted a cappella-esque chorus. "Foundations" has a typical Sabbathian main riff, two other distinctive rhythmic improvisations, a moment of clean guitar silence after six minutes of funeral dirge and voila you're in for an epic closure:

"Descendants of dust
With faces carved from stone
The legacy of what has gone
Our paths connected by a thread
Only remains of the lies we led
Impart the weight of the years we shed"

"Watcher in the Dark" is arguably the heaviest song on the record featuring a thumping main riff unleashed right after a creative percussion jam. "The Ghost I Used to Be" is the ultimate stand-out drenched in somewhat weird uplifting

psychedelia and an unconventional almost alternative approach to traditional doom metal.

Coming back to the point of band's naysayers. While they're small in number their brain cells spend abnormally large time to cherry-pick vague flaws like "Hey! their album cover is un-metal or pink or purple or violet" (Born Too Late by Saint Vitus anyone? or Voivod's Nothingface or Sabbath's Master of Reality) or they're not quite heavy (Haha! There's enough crunch to their riffs. Ask Mike Scheidt of YOB) or "identity crisis" huh? Pallbearer's sound is rooted within traditional doom metal and they borrow influences from drone, funeral doom and psychedelia as well. Yea, it's not that complex but their execution is what makes them unique and stand out. Save the phrase "identity crisis" next time for bands like Orchid. And finally Brett Campbell's vocals. Seriously? Check your ear drums if possible. Because his wistful vocals bring perfection to "doom" metal. So, if you love doom metal, heavy metal in general or emotional heavy music you can relate to then cast aside these skeptics and get your copy of this masterpiece straightaway.

Rating - ★★★★1/2 (90% on Metal-Archives)

Blood Farmers - Headless Eyes (2014)

Homecoming of Gore Doomsters:

One of the most mysterious and covert groups of all time is New York's Blood Farmers. Formed way back in 1989 the band has gone through a flurry of line-

up changes but the core members Dave 'Depraved' Szulkin (guitars) and Eli Brown (vocals) remained intact. After twelve years since the release of their self-titled cult classic the band reformed with three of the original members in 2007. But unfortunately bassist and Dave's cousin Phil 'Dr. Phibes' Markonish passed away in 2010. Since then vocalist Eli Brown took over the bass duties and ex-Toxik drummer Tad Leger joined the band.

Headless Eyes is the sophomore full-length release by the NY doomsters and it's every bit of a worthy successor of their 1995 self-titled masterpiece. It's filled with trademark Szulkin riffs, creepy somewhat uplifting psychedelic leads and 70's horror movie inspired atmosphere especially what Blood Farmers and Szulkin are known for. However, the biggest surprise of this record is the album closer, "The Road Leads to Nowhere", a cover of a song featured on the soundtrack of the 70's cult horror film The Last House on the Left originally performed by David Hess. It's a pretty well executed intriguing cover with acoustic guitars kicking in layered within spacey dream like psychedelic leads and Eli Brown's plaintive vocals. The song remains into psychedelic territory throughout without delving into doom metal heaviness. Although this cover may not come off as surprising to well acquainted fans of the band as Szulkin's association to horror movies and his bestseller book about the same film is no secret like I mentioned previously.

"Gut Shot" is classic Blood Farmers. It has all the elements of the band's sound but it's unlike any of their earlier songs mainly because of the production. The production here is a treat for every doom metal fan. Top notch pounding and bottom-heavy. The title track is clearly the winner and all these

so called new flock of doom bands should learn from it that how to write a long doom composition without sacrificing catchy hooks and remarkable variation tempo-wise.

"Thousand-Yard Stare" is the most Sabbathy track of the album and it acts as a bridge between "The Creeper" and "Night of the Sorcerers" which are the usual Blood Farmers instrumental psych doom jams in the vein of "Twisted Brain" and "Awakening of the Beast". "Night of the Sorcerers" in particular begins with a hypnotic middle-eastern tinged clean guitar melody further delving into pounding doom riffs and trippy psychedelic solos. The album concludes with the aforementioned "The Road Leads to Nowhere".

Headless Eyes is a triumphant return by Blood Farmers. It's a must have for doom metal fans and if you're into 70's horror and B-movies then it's a bonus. I just hope we don't have to wait two decades for its follow-up.

Rating - ★★★★1/2 (90% on Metal-Archives)