Artist: Subsilence
Title: Granite Planet
Type: Album
Label: Comatoad Records

Let’s get something out of the way shall we, Guildford’s Subsilence love old Sabbath in every way possible as this band use the Sabbath template for riffing style, atmosphere and even guitar tone to produce music that is overtly doom but with a twist of death metal added for aggression when needed. “I Am Megalodon” begins with a stoner feel and vocals that are croaky and very throaty. The change in pace is brilliant as it leads to a 70s like lead solo. “Gravity Well” changes the vocals to a clean style similar to those in Lamp Of Thoth. The music is sinister and deathly with an atmosphere like black metal as the song drops to an acoustic piece with a gentle bass strum and a riff that is straight out of Sabbath’s “Vol 4” album in style. Again the lead is 70s with high distortion used for power. “Abandoned” has a sludge angle and shifts towards a more death metal style similar to Celtic Frost from donkeys years ago. The vocal change is damn weird, almost out of tune as the song brings out a riff very close to “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”.

Serenity starts “Bonds” before a massive riff comes through that is sleazy and laid back. The minimalist production adds that something extra that albums often lack in their sound as yet again the change in pace is just great. The much faster “Sidewinder” cruises along in death metal mode before swapping hats with a decrease in pace to doom purity. There are many similarities to acts like Trouble, Cathedral and Electric Wizard in most of the songs as Subsilence opt for repetition to drive home the psychedelic buzz of the guitar riffs and harmony of the leads. I have to admit I’m not overly keen on the vocal style used on the album, especially the croaky style, and I would have preferred a cleaner style. However I can see why the style has been adopted as it creates a far more sinister and intimidating atmosphere in the songs. “Uncanny Valley” also on the bands debut EP along with the other two songs on said EP has a really catchy beat and riff that is highly reminiscent of Frost and Hellhammer in a loose sense as Sabbath is never far away on this album as I said earlier. The title track ends this impressive debut full length with a humungous bass line and some godly guitar hooks. This album is available for full download for only £1 from the link listed first below so invest a quid and be prepared to be Subsilenced.

http://subsilence.bandcamp.com

http://www.myspace.com/subsilence

Martin Harris

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