- -- Release information ----------------------------------------------- -- - Artist : King Heavy Album : Guardian Demons Genre : Metal Year : 2018 Label : N/A Cat# : N/A Source : WEB/MP3 Bitrate : 320kbps Size : 100,24 MB Runtime : 43:45 URL : https://kingheavy.bandcamp.com/album/guardian-demons - -- Tracklist -------------------------------------------------------- -- - 01. Guardian Demon 07:16 02. (Death is But an Extreme Form of) Narcosis 07:02 03. Doom Shall Rise 07:03 04. Cult of the Cloven Hoof 05:23 05. Come My Disciples 10:18 06. As in A Nightmare 06:43 - -- Release notes ---------------------------------------------------- -- - From the first strains of opener 'Guardian Demon,' King Heavy make plain their intentions for their second album, Guardian Demons. The Cruz Del Sur-delivered six-tracker runs 43 minutes and follows the model of classic, traditionalist doom metal. More to the point, not just doom, but doom for doomers, by doomers, and of doomers. With bassist Daniel PΘrez Saa, guitarist Matias Aguirre and drummer Miguel Canessa based in Chile and vocalist Luther Veldmark making his home in Belgium, they may not be a band who gets together every week for rehearsal in the practice space - or they may be, at least instrumentally - but they're certainly schooled in the ways of the genre. Candlemass are arguably the biggest single influence on cuts like "Guardian Demon" and "(Death is But an Extreme Form of) Narcosis," which follows, but it's not the only one. Saint Vitus, Black Sabbath, Reverend Bizarre and probably dozens of their acolytes all have a role to play in King Heavy's sound, which makes no attempt to hide or mask its base of inspiration. Still, it seems to be a Leif Edling-esque style of riffing that holds the day, given encouraging sweeps of double kick in the drums and lumbering marches alike. They never crawl, exactly, but there's plenty of stomp throughout anyhow, and the communication from band to audience is clear and without pretense. They're a doom band. That's where their heart lies. They present their sound without pretense otherwise, and as such, feel particularly sincere in their sonic homage and will to carry forward the mission of their forebears. So just how doomed is it? Quite doomed. Doomed enough that its third track, "Doom Shall Rise," is written in apparent tribute to the festival in Germany that ran between 2003 and 2013 - which also happens to reportedly be where Veldmark and Saa first met in 2005 and they decided to form a band. Sadly, they'd never get to play there. That track contains references to Mirror of Deception, The Well of Souls - presumably the band, but it's also a Candlemass song - Procession, Shepherd, etc., and if you ever needed a clear line of a group communicating on the same level as their listener, that's it. It's not only King Heavy sharing their own work, but sharing their love of the stylistic terrain in which it resides. After the opening provided by "Guardian Demon" and "(Death is But an Extreme Form of) Narcosis," it's as though the band finally comes out and says what they've been insinuating all along in terms of their passion for doom and their sense of belonging in and to it. As ever for the genre, there's a bit of an us-vs.-the-world sensibility to it, but that's as traditional as the Veldmark's Chritus Linderson-esque vocal on "(Death is But an Extreme Form of) Narcosis," switching between gruffer shouts and smoother, mournful crooning, even as the riff and rhythmic push signal a triumph in progress. Likewise, lines like "Doom shall rise, and rise again," and "Tonight, doom shall rise," make the point firmly and without question, and the band leave little to mystery as Veldmark moves into Cathedral-esque layering in the second half of that song, which rounds out side A with a burst of energy that only continues on the especially catchy "Cult of the Cloven Hoof," which the shortest inclusion at 5:19, but which underscores the point of the tightness and self-awareness in the band's approach. That is to say, even with just one record behind them in their 2015 self-titled debut (also on Cruz Del Sur), they present themselves as having a clear idea of the doom they want to make and the knowledge of just the right shifts in tempo, melody and groove to make it a reality. A grim reality at that. After tracking on separate continents last time around, King Heavy brought Veldmark to Chile to record his vocals this time around, and the difference would seem to be palpable in the chemistry of the band. One would expect an uptick there going from a debut to a sophomore effort no matter the circumstance, but their feeling more like a band rather than a project is evident in the cohesion here, and with the context of the studio circumstances in consideration, it makes sense as to why. "Cult of the Cloven Hoof" is a fitting example of their execution. It's tight, grueling in its slower stretches, righteous in its quicker parts, and it unfolds a sound that's as timeless as one could ask. It leads to the more unhinged, 10-minute-topping "Come My Disciples," which one might expect to be an Electric Wizard reference, but goes elsewhere sonically essentially by not departing the place it already is, but slowing it down. "Come My Disciples" feels more open than much of Guardian Demons, with a drawn out solo in its second half that's glorious in its miseries, particularly with the rumbling low end beneath holding down the central riff. Dead-on doom. Their closer, "As in a Nightmare," brings them back to ground with a shorter runtime, resumed trod and Veldmark's command of his voice. As they have all along, they offset slower and quicker stretches in "As in a Nightmare," and do so with a sharpness of attack that leads them to the big rock finish that closes out, a wash of cymbals and guitar and bass noise fading into oblivion at the close. Guardian Demons isn't a record made for everybody, and King Heavy isn't a band for everybody. Their doom is like a scratch test to see who will get it and who won't, and for sure, some won't. But more likely than not, they couldn't care less, since the audience they're speaking to is bound to embrace them all the more for the feeling of exclusion of the outside. True doom? One hesitates to believe in any kind of authenticity enough to call something "true," but there's no doubting the sincerity behind the murky havoc King Heavy wreak on their second album. - -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ -- -