Thermal Mass - I?,?...?Gore Head (New Full Album) Australia's Thermal Mass debut with a swaggeringly venomous slab of old-school Doom Metal. Recorded in 2015 by Josh Whitehead at the Crosstown studios in Melbourne, Australia, \"I,...Gore Head\" was Tracked in 5 hours, with 4 added hours for Lead guitar and Vocals, the remaining finances were put to mixing. It's an eclectic mix of what the band coins \"Sci- Fi Doom\". The album is only available in Physical Cd format from the band itself. To order a copy send an email to melbournesludge@gmail.com. The price is 25$ Australian and includes postage.
Old-school heavy, this is very much a throwback to the days when Doom was a fledgling offshoot of Metal, amped up for maximum darkness and nastiness. I'm reminded of Blue Cheer's 'Vincebus Eruptum', attitude-wise, hammering the sneering, swaggering biker rebellion of the one-time 'loudest band in the world' like a stake through the heart of the already dying flower-power summers of love. Thermal Mass, with their biting social commentary, and anti-authoritarian stance, fire a similar salvo at the complacent globalised capitalism which has proved so sadly lacking in recent months.
Musically - well, you don't really need to look too much further than Sabbath and Pentagram, shorn of their occultism. The sound may have been ramped up to a beefier, fuller and more modern production, but it's nonetheless proudly keeping one solidly-planted foot in the most sinister, oppressive and outright evil-sounding Metal of the early '70s. Unlike many of the later exponents of that super-heavy, sludgy Stoner-type sound, there's no attempt to turn it into another slowed-up Electric Wizard vibe: Thermal Mass are happy to stick with largely mid-tempo four-to-five minute offerings which emphasize their early-Doom roots, with some more deliberate pacing in the longer pieces.
That's not the whole story, though it's certainly the most obvious. 'I,...Gore Head' does bring some later influences on board, too - 'No Exit...' kicking off with a ferocious bass-heavy rumble reminiscent of early Voivod, 'Off With The Medicine' woven around samples of Gandhi's 'Kingsley Hall' speech, the longer and slower-paced 'Numbered Days' giving clearer space to reveal background layers of distorted noise, one reason why the album's sound is quite so full and heavy. Up front, the lead and rhythm guitars maintain an almost-constant dynamism, shifting between riffs and solos that complement the effective, at times Ozzy-like vocals, which generally operate somewhere between laconic contempt and venomous snarl. Everything unfolds with such confident panache that you may not even immediately notice how detailed and classy the compositions are in their own right, though it won't take many spins before those details become very clear.
Overall, it's a vehement and energetic performance, riding a neat line between tightness and spontaneity. In part, that's down to the album being recorded live in a Sabbathesque nine hours flat, with an absolute minimum of studio tinkering, but it's also obvious that the band are very much on the same wavelength when it comes to belting out the music. The bonus tracks come across as more rough, ready and aggressive, but there's no shortage of the latter in the album itself. Combining blasts from the past with more contemporary subject material, it's a strangely prophetic, invigorating rebellious piece of work to rage with, against the slow-motion drama of accelerating death, world lockdown and the slide into economic abyss. Play loud, and spread the word!
If you appreciate this channel, please consider becoming a Patron. SMOD is a full time job and any support helps greatly https://www.patreon.com/MeadowOfDoom
