EP Review - OH NO by HOMOH

 

Oh no, it's HOMOH and they're back with "OH NO", their second EP which follows last years "DEMOH" and it is as sickeningly sludge laden and deplorably grimy as their debut is but this time there is actual singing going on, but I'll get to that in a bit.

HOMOH are 3 sick bastards from South Wales, UK, home to "nu-metal's" most disgraced rock star and devourer of young souls who is now languishing in gaol forever fearing for what's left of his shitty little life. HOMOH may be sick, but not that kind of sick; just their music is sick, but in a really good way. As individuals, they are personable, straight up geezers who play disgustingly heavy sludge that will leave you heaving small amounts of vomit into your mouth giving you a long lasting pukey taste, but lap it up because you are getting another go at your dinner for free.

Every bastard needs a bastardess, and HOMOH bring theirs in the form of, well, "Bastardess" which opens "OH NO" with a slack bottomed stoner-ish twang and screechy ominous feedback leading to a balls kicking bendy riff that lurches forward violently and pushes buildings over as it goes. Ghastly vocals are bawled out, asking "What is this inside of me?" and then comes the singing part. The juxtaposition of almost creepy melodic singing against the wall of filthy chugging sludge gives the sensation of repeatedly banging your head against said wall whilst a gaggle of extremely scary nurses sing you a lullaby. Your sanity doesn't last for long though, as HOMOH then drive the point home with a repetitive riff that bores into your head bone like a malicious trepanning tool that serves to increase pressure on your brain rather than release it.
 
An evil twin appears with "Hell Bent" picking up the pace in a gust of urgent, nervous excitement and large twanged bendy riffs that slam and roll along with tightly tumbling drums and with plenty of guttural howls added to the quickly sickening porridge. A marching riff has the track slow its pace to a stomp and sludge later on that feels like taking hefty weighted full body slams from persons of enormous stature leaving you quite breathless and worried.

And so you should be when "Ugly Baby" completes the triplets that make up HOMOH's "OH NO" family. It is delivered from split open feedback and comes to life with a pummel of punching riffs and lurching, teetering and toppling drums. Throat shredding howls and grunts make this one fugly kid but almost serene singing appears again at near mid-way point that lies underneath the throaty barks and which could be heard as a very terrifying midwife there to deliver "Ugly Baby" and the singing is an attempt to quell its black sludge temper. Ultimately all attempts fail however as the sludge turns blacker and "Ugly Baby" triumphs and morphs into a doomed beastly form that hulks along, sickeningly dishevelled but with a hard focused purpose nonetheless.

HOMOH are to be supporting Church of Misery towards the end of April. A most fitting support band if ever there was one. Wild madness is sure to ensue.

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EP Review: HOMOH - DEMOH

HOMOH are a power trio of stoner/doom sludgemen spawned from the deep dark caves of South Wales, UK, where once dwelt Lord Shakin' Stevens and Sir Thomas Jones. Having only been together since summer 2012, the band have dug up from the deathly and abandoned coal mines a fresh live 3 track EP which they have forged into "DEMOH". Aha! I see what they did there.

The first track "Witches Weed" is some grimy sludge metal in the similar pain and anger filled sludge stylings of EYEHATEGOD. It's a fast paced violent fucker that slams urgent riffs of solid stone right in your soft pretty face. Breakdowns of feedback lead to strung out furious doom as you're lying on the floor with blood pouring from your head and still HOMOH pounds you in the face with that slab of solid rock until they end the track with several devastating blows that leave you feeling grateful for the satisfying head battering they have opened this EP with.

Thankfully the lovely filthy noise that HOMOH make does not end there as they follow with "Troll Hunter" which deals us a fat bag of begrimed sleazy doom with riffs that bore a hole where your third eye should be. Somewhat reminiscent of the best that Church of Misery has to offer, this turgid gut wrenching stench of sludge vomits up a bastardized pile of psychedelic filth. Thick with slovenly low-end grooves, dirty smokey guitar licks and deliciously disgusting drawls all driven along by monstrous drums of doom; this track crushes you under the weight of every rotting corpse that ever has been or ever will be.

Third and final track "Slumberjack" opens with "Sweet Leaf" coughs hacked up from taking massive hits from Lucifer's hell-bong packed with the most evil grit weed known to man. Irreparable lung damage is a certainty. There follows some cyclopean low-down riffage and terrifying roars as we're launched into the worst of all bad trips. The intensity increases as the pace picks up half-way with riffs and beats that flay the flesh from your bones until you are left at the end as a quivering but happy skeleton.

HOMOH proudly wear their influences on their blim riddled sleeves but have successfully forged their own unique nightmare sound as evidenced in this most excellent EP and with their live performances scaring their audiences witless with their new brand of huge and terrifying noise they are sure to carve a lasting scar on heavy music. I, for one, cannot wait to see them live.

This debut EP is a satisfying filth bath of stoner/doom/sludge metal, so if big riffs, fat tones and bad trips are what you want to hear when feeding your daily weed habit then get onto their bandcamp where the EP is available now as a "name your own price" download.

BANDCAMP  /  FACEBOOK

Album Review : Major Kong - Doom for the Black Sun

An instrumental trio straight out of Poland birthed from the remnants of Fifty Foot Woman, Major Kong struck back sans-vocalist and took off with an EP entitled "Orogenesis.:" They then followed up with a full length in March entitled "Doom for the Black Sun." 

While the title parallels a certain famous band from the california desert's famous record, the album pours on a heaping load of delicious cannabuttery flavor all its own.

The band brings a big stirfry of the regular doom catalog. With dinosaur sized riffs and down right disgusting grooves,  Major Kong creates a unique amalgam of what one could only describe as Bongzilla doing steamroller hits with Earthless - and deciding to record the ensuing jam.

The album hits it off with sampled occult themed audio, than the bludgeoning begins.The opener "IDDQD" echoes ferocious Electric Wizard-isms before splashing into a wailing solo. This track than plows into a major section laden with envelope filtered drones that plow into more modal tinged riffage. The song trills with timbres one could liken to Rosetta or Tombs- thick, crushing, and atmospheric - yet still burning.

The next tune, "The Swamp Altar" traverses into a dominant blues territory, first engaging us with clean pickin' before launching thru distortion laden splendor. This track oozes Church Of Misery style mischief, bludgeoning the listener with another zesty solo and breaching into vicious southern style metal. The title in this case is undoubtedly telling- a listen to for any fan of obnoxiously loud swamp metal (think Down or Weedeater.)

Enter "Primordial Gas Clouds." Damn. before bursting into diminished/chromatic minor doomliness, the band lays down a thick semi swung drum groove. This one really brings to mind HoF's "The Art of Self Defense" riffwise before splitting into pentatonic tinged guitar wankery. Recommended for anyone who's into Matt Pike!

"Acid Transmission"- exactly as one would expect. A long wobbly, warbly, woofy bit. it once again starts with an eerie sample before spitting itself back into gear. The middle section has the same vibe as any Clutch solo (due to similar effects processing) and thus kind of brings to mind the aforementioned band's 2nd album. The tune eventually divulges into dissonant squelches, spitting you right back out ...

...to "Witches On My Land." Once again opening with a freaky battered woman's sample, this tune pours on the doom syrup with another dose of Sleep-tinged riffs. Slow and low - the track fits perfectly in with the rest of the tunes- only suffering from a repeated key and similarity to the prior songs. Thematically however, the tune is in line with everything else going on thus far.

The last track is seriously straight out of Bongzilla's riff vault. Wicked, steady, and straight ahead- "Demolition Whale" plods forward at the continued bewitched stoner pace. Interestingly the tune in 3/4 offers  a little time variation. When the tune eeks out with atmospheric flanged effects it's pretty clear what's going on here with this Polish power trio.

A band very well-versed on the fundamentals of stoner rock this should be an great listen for any Weedian. The only thing the album suffers from is length- the band gets a little bogged down from evoking prior riffs as the songs progress- however- that is not to say that the listening experience is unenjoyable. This band definitely has promising horizons and a clear understanding of who their audience is. I hope we get more nuggets of these guys in the future!

"Witches On My Land" and  "The Swamp Altar"previously appeared on "Orogenesis"

Major Kong is:

Dominic Stachyra- Bass

Pawel Zmarlak - Drums

Michal Skula- Guitars

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New Releases For Tuesday February 23, 2010

Here are a few new releases for February 23, 2010.

High On Fire-"Snakes For The Divine" (Koch)

High On Fire return with one of the most highly anticipated release of 2010. Called 'one of 50 records you must hear in 2010' by Kerrang! Magazine, Snakes For The Divine is High On Fire's finest release to date and the one that will catapult them to the next level of their career. Pre-release touring with Dethklock has lit the fuse for the band who are poised to be one of the biggest stories in Hard music in 2010.

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All Time High-"Friends in High Places" (Small Stone Records)

If you were to take one thing away from their debut album, Seattle's All Time High would want it to be this: Seattle rock is not dead! Formed in 2005, the men of All Time High are veterans of considerable pedigree. Having spent the last decade cutting their teeth playing in bands (VALIS, Kitty Kitty, Gardener) alongside some of the biggest and most recognizable names in the Northwest's music scene--and having released albums on labels as notable as Sub Pop, Man's Ruin, and Small Stone--All Time High aren't content to rest on their laurels. Since their inception All Time High have been steadfast in the trenches, playing shows with the likes of Helios Creed/Chrome, Sound of Urchin, The Spores, Mos Generator, and The Valley. Their debut long-player, the aptly titled 12-song Friends in High Places, was recorded in an unadulterated 5-day session with legendary Seattle producer Jack Endino and features more than a few surprise guests.

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Church Of Misery-"Live At Roadburn" (Import)

2010 live release from Japan's premier Stoner/Sludge rockers. The night was recorded in multi track and was mixed and mastered by Marcel van de Vondervoort of Torture Garden Studio fame. After releases by Wolves In the Throne Room (2008) and Year Of No Light (2008), Church Of Misery Live at Roadburn 2009 is the third installment in our live series. Eight tracks. Roadburn.