Snailking
Storm

Two years ago it was Samsara and now Snailking are back and there is a storm growing somewhere on the horizon. We just have to hope that the wooden house on the cliff and the trees will stand for the power of this upcoming sonic storm. I liked Samsara which according to the label is an EP but as it is over thirty minutes long I think that is a stupid claim as that is album length. So let us call Samsara the debut album, now let us look at the second album by this Swedish trio who have stolen their name from the second album of a band called Ufomammut.

It is slow doom metal, sludge is what many people call this kind of music. Music that builds on a simple premise to be slow, heavy and monotonous. It worked brilliantly on the debut, it does not work as well now. The production is not as good as it was before, if it is my view on this kind of music has changed quite a bit but I think it feels like a step back on the debut. The vocals could have been given a bit more space, they could come through more clearly. The album isn’t exactly what can be called varied, it is as monotonous as they come and that is not in a good way. I think many listeners will find it boring. But those listeners are not the targeted audience, I think fans of doom and stuff find the monotony fairly appealing.

Although, you cannot really shake the feeling of disappointment, the album just isn’t as good as the previous was. I think it is because that one was little over the half hour while this one is well over fifty minutes which is too long for me to keep interest. Perhaps it is that ADD that some band guy claimed when I stated his album was too long for its own good, this is what this album is as well. But it is not only that, the production is also not as good as it should have been. Still, it isn’t a bad album, it just have to contend with a better predecessor and that is its weakest point.

There is no standout tracks, nothing really stand out, it is a solid mass. It is a solid mass that is either brilliant or not as brilliant depending on who you ask. I guess you could say that it is a decent album but it fails to blow me away.

HHHHHHH