Style: stoner doom, progressive rock (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: YOB, Pallbearer, Rush
Review by: Jonah
Country: Poland
Release date: 19 October 2019
[EDITOR’S NOTE: This review was originally published in the October 2019 issue of The Progressive Subway.]
I’ve been pretty tired of stoner and sludge variations recently. It seems like more often than not every band in this umbrella uses the same fuzzy riffs, the same unimpressive vocals, and the same god damn songwriting tendencies, to the point that I really struggle to tell it all apart. There are obviously shining examples of the genre that break this mold though, and none come to mind more than YOB. I love YOB to death, I love their obtuse, sprawling songs, I love their abrasive and unconventional vocals, and I love how abnormal their music is to the genre. I was expecting to be underwhelmed by yet another bog standard stoner/sludge album when I came into the latest by Tamam Shod, but I was very pleasantly surprised to find it leaning much more in the YOB direction, albeit a good bit faster, with hints of Pallbearer and some prog rock to carry things along.
There is a lot of atmosphere in these tracks, and they really capitalize on the sprawling length by making some really cool soundscapes in which to play. The riffs aren’t the most unique, and the vocals sound like most stoner/traditional doom vocalists these days (with some added roars that are pretty damn massive), but the bass and lead guitar work is pretty damn awesome. The melodic leads fly around the riffs, weaving intricate webs of melody and beauty, while the bass provides some of the funkiest, thickest low-end I’ve heard in a doom band in a hot minute. The faster sections almost felt like sh to me instead of doom, and it was really quite refreshing. The drumming is relatively standard (and the drum production leaves a good bit to be desired), but it serves well enough to carry along the rest of the killer performances.
This is a tremendously good album. The production is a bit rough, and the drums could be more exciting, but it hits some truly tremendous notes and leaves me wanting more. This is filling a specific niche of doom for me that Pallbearer and YOB fill, and I desperately want more of it. For right now though, give this bad boy a spin. It’s pretty dang good.
Recommended tracks: Gardens, Nova, Uranus
You may also like: idk about this one fam, Ergo I Exist maybe?
Final verdict: 8/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page
Label: Independent
Tamam Shod is:
– Sadness (vocals, guitars)
– Jerzu (guitars)
– Norweg (bass)
– Autistick (drums)
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