The Deadists. Another new name to me. With the cover and title of the EP it kind of made me expect some kind of Misfits-type. Still, their MySpace site says Alternative/Hardcore/Metal which whilst it didn't sound enticing elsewhere I saw them tagged as Stoner/Doom which is even worse because if you're Stoner, you ain't Doom. Mutually exclusive. So: Stonercore anyone?
So what is in this suprise package?
This is their second EP since 2007 and we get 5 (or 6) tracks in just over half an hour to see where they've come to.
'Woven' is my introduction and, well, there's a fair bit of Kyuss worship in the fluidly played downtuned-and-fuzzed-out guitar. It's a sound that travels straight off Demon Cleaner with that classic quirky riff and discordant choked melody. A bit of a heavier sludge approach is mixed in by the bass and drums which I guess comes from the hardcore influence noted and the vocals are gruff and confident sounding barks but in the cold light of day a bit unvaried and the song fails to catch me really. It hasn't got the bitter, painful intensity of a fine sludge sound like Crowbar or Eyehategod, or the overflowing emotion of a decent Doom band, or the left-field take on life of a nicely rolling Stoner crew. So 'Woven' allows me to wander off unconcerned after a couple of minutes and the similar sound of 'The Human Stain' unfortunately has even fewer hooks to catch me on.
'Infinite Self' up next drops the pace into a slow chug that sprawls across the song like Scissorfight in a placid mood but without the eccentricity. It does, however, pull me back in, back to attention. It has an atmosphere, a slightly sinister air but in the end when the stoner boogie kicks in it has been the highlight so far but still stretches itself out a little too far at six minutes.
'Deeper Within' brings that Kyuss sound to the fore once more and with some whispered vocals is quite effective. It loses a bit when it grows more aggressive but some quirky time changes and a slightly unhinged passage brings to mind the late, much missed Bloodlet albeit a sane and controlled version. Things are looking up, I tell myself.
But the last song 'Chase The Giving' somehow loses its grip on the atmosphere despite that gloomy recurring riff and I'm left wandering again I'm afraid.
There is a hidden track which the cybervoid tells me might be 'Blizzard Of Nails' or might not be but after the obligatory fade out sample of the previous track and the intervening silence it is a solid but unremarkable chug exercise to my ears.
Once again this is one of those EPs which is not bad by any stretch: They guys know what they're doing and have a path they want to follow and I haven't heard many similar bands recently at all with their mix of stoner and lighter shades of hardcore. I'm sure some will eat it up and it did cause me to spin Bloodlet's 'The Seraphim Fall' and the brilliant 'Three Humid Nights In The Cypress Trees' which is always a good thing. But other than that this it is an EP that is plainly not aimed at me I'm afraid. The songs don't touch me and on the whole it has left me unmoved. The bottom line is I just don't get it, sorry guys.
http://www.myspace.com/thedeadists
