» Blog Archive Album Review: Conan/Slomatics split -
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conan, slomaticsBehold! Another of the almighty splits! This one has the distinct pleasure of hosting 6 tracks of unadulterated doom weighing upon the listener, split between Conan and Slomatics, with the intro a combined effort from the two. Adventure forth, those that seek the heaviest of music, that you may know my inner most thoughts upon this glorious repressing.

To say again, in case you skipped ahead in excitement, this album was originally released in 2011 but has since been repressed and digitalized by wizards into the aethernet for 2014! And to admit something beforehand, I had only heard Conan before snagging this gem, but Slomatics shamed me for ignoring their syrup slow attacks.

And like cold pancake topping, and just as sweet, this albums engulfs the aural landscape at a snail’s war pace. The intro track, Retaliator, is a collaborative effort from both bands, and is absolutely the only way to kick off this motherfucker. Its a pounding, aggressive, deep song, that just strikes you over the head repeatedly until you submit to the sludge pace and accept that they are to consume you with fuzz. I have no idea which band is doing what more, but I can’t get enough of the song.

It echoes off, leaving you a bit frayed at the edge, but Conan comes to play right after, with Obsidian Sword and Older Than Earth. Conan simultaneously has the shortest and longest songs, 1:10 for Obsidian and 11:22 for Older. And both songs are entirely different beasts. Obsidian Sword is basically an instrumental track, with a modulated, robotic voice narrating something happening, something quite unsettling and violent. It then segues from the final silence to Older Than Earth, which is just a huge, disharmonic, droned out fuzz trip. It starts with some riffs that are bigger than the titular planet, with some harsh rub on the chord choices themselves. Then it just explodes with an even BIGGER RIFF section, with some chant like vocals thrown in for great measure. In between all this, there is a synth, sounding like from a John Carpenter flick, adding that edge to the music. It’s an unsettling effect, and used efficaciously to set a very edgy tone to the huge, roomy band. Older Than Earth itself could be a quasi-instrumental, for all the vocals present themselves, but the song is rock solid. the last is just octave, fuzz, and a steady rock drum that fades out till nothing is left… Which is exactly how Slomatics wants it.

They have the last half of the album all to themselves, with 3 tracks spread over 16+ minutes. THeir section begins with Lose The Five, and right off the bat, they want to crush everything in their path. The song starts with what I think are backwards vocals, and then right into a wall of 10 ton riffs. They wield their riffing like tides during a storm, and don’t let up until its all over but the crying. Where Conan tends to play at a pace not unlike tectonic shifts, Slomatics like to hit like a tsunami. Their music hits and hits and hits till you’re a bloody pulp, and then the next song happens. After Lose The Five comes Black Blizzard, which is what the armies of the last war shall march to. This song is all about dat fuzz, and it pervades the very atmosphere as they chug on, with their vocalist shouting from down the hall, from an apparently cavernous room. Black Blizzard also showcases a little groove, which is buried under the planet of rhythm they have leading the band here. It’s short lived, but it’s a pretty sweet layer in this fuzz cake. Black Blizzard is a song that seems like its an hour, but only fills about 5:50 from their time on the record. It fades out similar to Obsidian Sword, and lets you catch your breath for about 2 seconds, then Mont Ventoux lets itself be know, hovering above your head and ready to crush everything it can. It begins with what sounds like an old film reel clicking along, with some drumming coming in, then slams into gear with the whole band throwing a mountain of sound at you. This song has the most vocals out of their set, with the shouted from afar approach at the forefront. It doesn’t clash or detract, and the song is just massive. If you have a sub, the only thing better to crank louder is something from SUNN 0))). Mont Ventoux has so much distorted goodness, it almost sounds like huge brass horns braying out notes to a city at war, warning of pending attack. Its absolutely HUGE, and I need more of this in my life!

Find this album over at Bandcamp, Conan set here and Slomatics set here

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