Album Reviews

Taraban – How the East Was Lost (Reissue, Interstellar Smoke Records, 2022)

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You will have noticed that January 2022 has already started with some incredible albums, many of which are finding their way on this month’s Doom Charts. Among these, Interstellar Smoke Records started the year with a blast! The vinyl reissue of Taraban’s 2019 masterpiece “How the East Was Lost” was released on the 16th of January 2022. Those who know what this means have already secured a copy of the limited edition wax. The rest of us will have only recently discovered the band and we have some serious catching up to do!

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YO NO SE – Momento Mori (Stolen Body Records 2022)

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Following their widely praised Terraform album of June 2021, Bristol’s post-grungers YO NO SE will return on the 28th of January 2022 with their new full-length album “Momento Mori”. As the band explains on their Bandcamp, the album is a collection of eight songs, mastered by none other than the great Jack Endino, some of which were left out of the Terraform sessions, one cover and some new tunes recorded during the first UK lockdown.

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Restless Spirit – Blood of the Old Gods (Lifesblood Records 2021)

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You should really be warned from the start that the new album by Restless Spirit “Blood of the Old Gods” is a beast. The trio from New York has created an album that easily looks eye to eye with bands like Mastodon, High on Fire and Psychonaut. There are brilliant vocal melodies throughout, with intelligent riffs and grooves that demonstrate the band’s musicianship.

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Plastic Woods – Dragonfruit (Multiple Labels 2021)*

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Named after the fruit Pitaya with it’s scale-like skin, “Dragonfruit” is the new album by Plastic Woods from Andalucia, Spain. Following their debut “Icarus” album of 2019, “Dragonfruit” is a rich palette of progressive stoner rock sounds that hops across decades and genres with remarkable dexterity, demonstrating the band’s musicianship and crafting a unique sound.

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Birmani – EP4 (Cuchabata Records 2021)

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Following their brilliant self-titled album that came out only in April 2021, Birmani is back again to close the year with the 4th instalment in a series of killer EPs that started back in 2018. “EP4” consists of four songs recorded by the band itself at home towards the end of summer 2021. But this is something that you would have never guessed, as the overall production is excellent. The EP kicks in with the big riff of “Encore” and vocals that bring to mind early Alice in Chains (Facelift era). Midway however, the song takes an intelligent Mastodonesque turn, and if you thought that the opening riff sounded big, the closing riff is massive.

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