Available: March 28th, 2014
Label: Napalm Records
Official Websites:
https://www.facebook.com/thegraviators
http://www.soundofliberation.com/graviat…
http://www.myspace.com/graviators
http://www.napalmrecords.com/
http://www.transubstans.com
Ah…a doom/stoner band with a name that sounds like a transformer. The doom/stoner genre to me has always been a love/hate kind of thing for me. Well maybe those terms are a little strong but the genre has always been, for me, for every positive there seems to be negative. For every Yoda there is a Palpatine and for every Obi-Wan there is a Darth Vader. I’m in a Star Wars mood so don’t judge me.
Anyway back on point, the positives for me in this genre is that I find the lyrical subject matter, vocals and the slow catchy riffs great the down side of the genre is when the songs turn into 15 minute long opuses for hippies on LSD.
‘Motherload’ encapsulates both the good and the bad of the genre…the bad for me…maybe not for you. Let me explain. The first several tracks of the album have some great hooks, catchy songs and cool vocals. Top notch stuff that I really enjoyed, especially the opening track, ‘Leif’s Last Breath-Dance of the Valkyrie’. As we hit into the middle of the album the songs tend to get longer and longer until I feel like I’m going to suffer a narcoleptic episode and pass out. Now I want to be clear here, the songs are very well played and the musicianship is very high and The Graviators have all the perfect ingredients that make them a great band. It is just MY brain tends to zone out when a song goes on for a long time at slow speeds.
So despite my personal misgivings on some of the songs ‘Motherload’ is an excellent doom/stoner rock album that I think fans of the genre will fall head over heels for. Me, I really enjoyed the album but the longer songs kind of led my mind to wonder a bit.
Rating:
3.5/5
