| CD REVIEW Sardonis |
 |
|
Band : Sardonis Over the past year, stoner rock label MeteorCity has released a considerable number of high quality releases, far more than most labels. And our Belgian Sardonis is a winner too. Their realm of instrumental gargantuan ear-fuzzing material is made of loud guitars, awesome drumming and some of the heaviest doses of music to storm at you in a while. It's fast and slow-paced at times but you always know there is a good thrill around the bend. With just two guys – Roel (guitars) and Jelle (drums) - pushing all the right buttons, it doesn't take long for Sardonis to get the sludge feast going. Punchy and straightforward, this two-piece seem to know exactly what kind of sonic grenade and sound they want to put out and accomplish it rather brilliantly with this self-titled effort. If they aren’t blazing through High on Fire-textures they are probably locked in a pummeling mid-paced groove or slowing things down even further into a sludgy dirge as on “Nero d’avola” and “March of the masses”. Attention grabbers include the ferocious stomp of "Thor”, “Wolf’s lair” and “It walks the mountain”. There is also a neat and spooky acoustic track called "More severe things await” "Skullcrusher ad” has a swinging blues rock groove that a band like Karma To Burn would be proud to claim as their own. For me, one song that kind of rises above the crowd is “Wolf’s lair”. It's got a catchy Slayer-esque riff and is definitely my favourite track on the album. The duo received studio assistance from Xavier Carrion, so the production is both clear and crushing. The guitars are mostly a low roar and a very raw one too. I love when a guitarist can blow your head off and you can still feel him. For a debut album it feels surprisingly tight and well made too, I can’t wait to see what these guys do in the future. 90/100 Cosmicmasseur. |