Get ready to be buried in a mammoth sized smokey cloud of savage doom with the release of Afghan Haze’s, “Nihilistic Stoner Hymns.” This Connecticut doom outfit throws down a sonic titan like ass kicking that will knock doom fans off their feet and have them laying around on the floor as if they were just given a chokeslam from The Undertaker.
The riffs on this album are monumental sounding and the more sludge/death metal like vocals inject an unapologetic attitude into the musical landscape. I know a lot doom bands right now want to sound like Ozzy with their vocals, however, I respect the bands that know how to right heavy grooving riffs and then change things up by unleashing some monstrous sounding vocals. Plus, when some bands try to sound like Ozzy they end up sounding like a grandma who took the wrong morning medication.
Afghan Haze’s sound is delivered with such conviction and ruthless aggression that you become instantly hooked when this band tears into one of their songs. Listeners will notice that this album is anything but a snooze fest full of cheaply made Sabbath like riffs. The band opens the album with a massive banger called, “Burn the Goat,” which comes bursting through the soundscape like a demon rising from the ground that then drags you straight down into a fiery inferno. You truly feel each chord strike and cymbal hit to where you begin to drift away into a hazy void of cataclysmic doom. Some of the following tracks like, “Blood Ritual” and “(Welcome to) Drug Mountain,” continue to highlight this band’s more savage like approach to doom metal, while also adding some abysmal sludge like touches.
There are quite a few songs on this album that may not feature the most technically advanced compositions to be written in the world of metal music, however, the overall atmosphere is what really stands out. I get tired of people saying, “I’ve heard this before,” or “this is nothing new.” To all those douche music fans, please go listen to your obscure progressive djent tech death jazz influenced albums and ride around on your old fashion bicycles and let us enjoy some badass sounding music while you hangout in your hipster hovels near the Dublin, CA Bart Station.
Moving on from my rant there, the one track that really caught my attention and made this album for me was, “Southern Bastard Church.” Talk about a ferocious world obliterating piece of music! The slower more diabolical sounding rhythms create a horror inducing vibe that honestly makes this band a force to be reckoned with in the world of doom metal.
Overall, the album does not disappoint from the first track to the last ear shattering distorted riff. Also, solid musicianship and production helps this band stand out from the usual suspects that need to understand how having an evil sounding band name does not make your music anything special. Afghan Haze definitely impressed me with their style and approach on this album and I know that there is a world wide horde of fanatical diehard worshipping doom fans who will want to give this album a listen.
Link to the band's bandcamp to where you can buy the album:
I agree with your review about how Afgan Haze, and how they have their own unique sound, compared to other doom metal bands.I really enjoyed listening to them.
ReplyDeleteLove your humor about our area which we live. So true.