Saturday, November 05, 2011

Doom Is Where The Heart Is...

The Wisdoom - Self Titled (2011)


It seems as though Italy are fast becoming a pretty major player in the old doom/psychedelic/space rock scene, with bands like Blackland, Otehi, Le Scimmie and Ivy Garden Of The Desert all producing some of the best examples of the genre in the last year or so. Well, now we can add the aptly named The Wisdoom to that list too. There really couldn't be a better name for this band, it sums them up to a tee. Combining the pounding of skins similar to that of Black Pyramid, the biblically slow and crushing riffs of Sleep and that distant haunting vocal tone so akin to that of Electric Wizard. With all those key elements in place it's like a big perfectly executed homage to all the trailblazers of the genre.
In typical doom style there are just a trio of tracks but as they are all between about 10 and 17 minutes long  the play time is still close to the 40 min mark. For some thats quite a lot of down tuned doom to be split just three ways and sure, if its all done a bit half arsed then it will end up falling a bit flat. Fortunately the guys have well and truly dodged that bullet. With a combination of ambient space rock style bridges joined by some of the best guitar hooks I've heard this year everything merges together with tight groove that constantly flows through each track keeping it fresh from verse to verse. That may sound like a pretty basic and fundamental element, but its surprising just how many up and coming bands of a similar ilk that just fall short of hitting this important nail on the head.



For Fans Of; Electric Wizard, Dozer, Mountain Witch, Elder, Blackland








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