From the first seconds of the opening song 'Restless' it is clear that Pat Walker is still channelling the Lord of the Riff. The chord descends like a slow motion apocalypse; huge, dense as the crush of night time, rolling with William Spong's fat low gear bass and pushed by the seamlessly integrated drums of Christian Leitch. It simply moves all in its way until the edges fray into fuzzed out distortion and the bleak, melancholy melody line slides through the strata like an underground river. And then that voice. If you have never heard Pat Walker sing before this album I kind of envy you because discovering his singing is a moment all in itself. The man has worked on it so hard since those early days of Warning and there is now this thick, red wine rich tone with range and sustain to make your average power metal singer weep and an ability to carry the emotion of the song that borders on frightening. There is an almost folk element to his phrasing; not in some light twee finger-in-the-ear way, but in the plaintive call and the vulnerability he can show. By the time the huge, heavy song evolves into the acoustic guitar somehow, impossibly moulded into the crush that has preceded it I know I am in safe hands.
40 Watt Sun are two thirds of the last line-up of the UKs much loved doom heroes Warning who bowed out with the staggering 'Watching From A Distance', an album I still find difficult to listen to at times due to the incredible raw, naked emotions it creates. Alongside The River, whom drummer Christian Leitch played with too, Warning proved that crushing True Doom could also be modern and progressive.
Sound and feel wise there is an evolution as you'd hope and expect. But equally there is still a genuine path from the roots of Warning in that the riffs are still very much the overwhelming and powerfully heavy waves of that band. The heart-wrenching melody of guitar and voice are still present in abundance too, but where Warning could be almost brutal in the way the songs like 'Footsteps' tore you slowly apart from the inside, on 'The Inside Room' 40 Watt Sun have created more space around their sound. They give the listener room to breath between riffs and can even be gentle with you in the way that only the truly strong can ever be. Equally though they are quite capable of crushing with unrelenting, smothering pressure when the riff turns.
'Open My Eyes' is another aching piece of yearning with a melody that sounds like a nod to an early eighties soft metal ballad, somehow! However don't look away because when they sew this tune so tightly to an iron clad riff all thoughts of 'soft' are ploughed aside. Instead they leave a sound like Firebird playing While Heaven Wept; insular and intensely personal and still somehow epic in sound.
There is a real, dare I say it, romantic heart to songs like 'This Alone'. Not in some sappy Hallmark flog-a-crap-card-on-Valentines-day way but in an honest and brave voice it shows. A strength is shown as the lyrics open up a deep wellspring of love and affection that is poignant and no less masculine for its naked vulnerability. It is a song you could curl up on the sofa to with your significant other; not in some imaginary candle lit perfection, but in your shitty two room flat with three days worth of washing up in the sink and beer stains on the carpet and know what is important. For all its lyrical nature it is real and honest enough for that.
On 'Carry Me Home' there's a touch, the smallest pinch perhaps, of Revelation to the way the tune is woven with sadness. It is a beautiful song that brings to mind a final ocean voyage back to the land of your birth too long distant from your soul, carried with the rise and fall of the slow riff. A mesmerising song.
The production courtesy of William Spong has a bright 'live' quality to it that feels clear rather than rushed and it seems to be of great benefit in allowing Christian Leitch fine drum work to shine rather than overshadow. Just a nice bit of extra colour on an already fine palette.
Downsides? Well perhaps the refrain melody of the harsher riffing 'Between Times' turned into an earworm for a couple of days !), but only because it is a fine, memorable song so what do you expect, eh?
A simple closing of that chapter that was Warning and the opening of a new one under the 40 Watt Sun name has, whilst respecting the past, created a little space around the guys to move on. When Warning produced 'Watching From A Distance' I worried about how they could possibly follow that. With 40 Watt Sun's 'The Room Inside' I can't wait to see what the band do, and no worrying, just real anticipation because it will be worth it.
40 Watt Sun. 'The Inside Room'. A slowburning peat fire of a doom metal band. Let them in and I promise they'll keep you warm and bring a richness to your room. Essential. Well done guys. Well done indeed.
http://www.40WattSunn.com
http://www.cyclone-empire.de
