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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Album Review - Major Kong: "Orogenesis"

Picture Slim Pickens as “Major Kong” riding a nuclear bomb in Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 hilarious black satire Dr. Strangelove, and you’ll wonder why this band chose to name themselves after him. Orogenesis is a four-track collection of heavy stoner jams reminiscent of Sleep, full of effective bass-laden groove, and absent of any true vocals. The sound is honest, organic, and heavier than your best friend’s little sister. Three members of Fifty Foot Woman compose Major Kong, and here they give us four gloomy stompers without complicating the sound by adding extraneous elements.

Witches on My Land initiates the album’s persistent feedback fuzz, accompanied by troubling audio samples, clanking chains, perhaps even a sigh of falling ice. Strong stoner riffs break the tension and give way to dropped rhythm balanced by Pawel’s steady cymbals. The groove is infectious and you'll bob your head solidly as spacey guitar warbles through a soaring, deliberate solo. The sludge/doom groove stays in place long enough to let listeners know these Polish instrumentalists have enough experience to avoid rushing things.

The slow-building fade-in of In for the Kong! reeks of patience and promise, delivering a groovy buzz once the riffs fall in. A few strategic jagged hooks pepper Michal’s sawmill guitar drone, only to ultimately space out into a hum-drive that again slams your eardrums off their asses.

The stand-out track is Swamp Altar, which transcends genres and finds parity between drudge and twang. The swampy, southern licks ride sidecar to the fuzzy bass, while the drums could fill an empty cave in the Ozarks. The honkey-tonk never disconnects the listener from the heavy, grinding pace, even when the riffs break into another extended, quavering solo. These three guys play together brilliantly and seem to share one vision when crafting every sound on this disc. Don't bother looking in the classifieds, they don't seem to need a vocalist.

Orogenesis closes with the title track, an excellent stoner-cruise jam with stutter-step riffs, odd time signatures, and more tool shed guitar. The track rolls, churns, distorts, rises. The feedback hum gradually grows more prominent, ultimately building toward significant doom. Parallel to the album’s fadeout is another crusty audio sample, this time documenting one man’s feeling of isolation after his boat runs out of gas. Spooky stuff.

Major Kong provides the listener with a quick study of instrumental doom created by accomplished and seasoned musicians. The album will only chew up twenty-four minutes of your wake and bake, so you may just have to listen twice. At least until we hear more from these three. I'm not sure I can wait much longer.

 

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