Bludgeoned strings that resound and rebound around the room, snares and cymbal strikes that pitch and shift like a rolling ship, the disembodied, echo-laden vocal of some vast thundergod. Prepare to meet the monster that is Suma's 'Ashes'.
Released as a double LP, the Swedish quartet's third, this not only walks the line between doom and stoner metal, but tips it's hat to the apocalyptic hardcore of Fall Of Efrafa and the cosmic drone of Sunn O))). With master engineer Billy Anderson (Eyehategod, Black Cobra, High On Fire, etc.) on board there was never any doubt that this wasn't going to sound absolutely vast.
The invigorating slabs of pounding rock that come out of 'Headwound' rise from odd ravings to "kill everyone" and "advocate cannibalism" and, with wodges of sustain on show, we slowly leak into the sludgy pit of cumbersome two-chord loitering that the title-track inhabits. With little hope of extrication coming throughout 'Orissa' it's half-an-hour before 'Justice' steps in to rescue us with a pair of drumsticks. Thunderous toms, snare and cymbals are suddenly revealed in their true form as the murky undercurrent drops out and the vocalist Jovan kicks back in.
The anguished hellfire they summon forth for 'War On Drugs' prove they really can crack the earth open. No matter how many times you listen to what's on offer here, and there is well over an hour of sonic battery on display, you always seem to take away something new. It can, at times, seem utterly mesmeric, at others a complete chore. If Suma go easy on the see-saw structures, saving most for the playground of the practice room, and bring more complex crust-shattering tools to the studio they might just have the cojones to obliterate us all. Be afraid, be very afraid.
http://www.myspace.com/sumanoise
