Saturday, September 14, 2013
"Psychache" is the 6 track follow up to Curse The Son's highly acclaimed "Klonopain". Disk opener "Goodbye Henry Anslinger" sets the tempo for what is sure to be a slow smoke-filled ride. Each sticky riff slowly oozes from the mammoth hands of it's creator and drags the listener through a muddy trench of sonic fuzz. The mood is way darker and the tunes are even a bit slower here on "Psychache" than on the bands previous effort, citing less of a traditional "stoner metal" or uptempo vibe and showcasing more of an early Cathedral meets Melvins style and pace. Frontman Ron Vanacore's vocals are high and paranoid, giving each of these tracks the backbone of their eerie aura. Fans of the bands last release will hear Ron coming more into his own with his vocal styling and sounding way less Ozzy influenced than he had on "Klonopain", heck if I didnt look at the lineup on the inside of the disk cover, I might have even though Curse The Son had brought in a new singer! Catchy riffs, gloomy verses and memorable choruses are abundant on this recording, as evident in tracks like "Spider Stole The Weed". "Somatizator" and the disks title track "Psychache" which is an instrumental jam that begins with some primal drumming and a quirky bassline that reminds this reviewer of Down's "Lies, I dont know what they say but..." before kicking into full gear and busting out riffs that set your speakers on fire for almost 5 solid minutes. Being a fan of well-crafted doom epics that are a bit longer in the tooth, "The Negative Ion" is my personal favorite track here and closes out the disk running well over 7 minutes in total. The quietly played and soft spoken intro wets the appetite with an almost Pink Floyd-ian flavor, and even after the heaviness kicks in the band does well to keep this spacy groove prevalent throught the track. The hypnotizing guitar and thundering bass seem to rip open a huge black void, while Ron screams at us from another dimension and the timing of the drums keeps the stars perfectly aligned for the universe of doom metal that Curse The Son has collectively created here. Curse The Son hit a huge homerun with "Psychache", a meaty fistful of fuzzy, low and slow tracks that are an incredible follow up to their first album and see the band going in a different and even heavier direction. At a time where most current doom bands are more worried more about how much they sound like they stepped out of a time machine from the 1970's, than coming up with original ideas and crafting deep, swampy music, Curse The Son stands out and seperates themselves from all the usual dime-a-dozen sound-alikes. Physical copies of "Psychache" are extremely limited so head over to facebook.com/cursetheson click the "Like" button and ask the band if there are any left, or you can go to cursetheson.bandcamp.com and buy the digital tracks to put in your mp3 player and blow out your computer speakers to! You can also visit the band at reverbnation.com/cursetheson as well. Hit these guys up, add these smokin' grooves to your music library and support the lowest and slowest band in Connecticut.
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