Spaceslug
Eye the Tide

Spaceslug is time well spent according to my press contact that promotes these guys, I take that challenge – I always love a good challenge so lets see whether or not this new album by Spaceslug is time well spent. It has a really cool artwork and I would (if I could afford it) buy it on vinyl for that alone. I read in the press material that followed this album that they were formed in Wrocław, Poland in 2015 by guitarist Bartosz Janik and drummer Kamil Ziółkowski, Spaceslug was born a singularity; a rare and unusual discovery found deep amidst a cosmic multiverse of doom, stoner metal and progressive rock – that is the words of the promotion people, they put out an interesting sales pitch as multiverses and cosmic stuff are things that I find most interesting. So lets glimpse at what hides behind the event horizon.

Long songs that can be categorised as doom, or stoner metal, or progressive rock, or perhaps something else, lets call them doomstonermetalprogressiverockmusic, just to invent a needlessly long word that doesn’t mean much and can only be used in this review. I think it is kind of spacey in its style, like a space slug traversing the universe, visiting solar systems like our own and many others that are very different. The atmospheres are kind of like space, dark, somewhat empty and lengthy, everything needs a long time and the tempo isn’t particularly high, perhaps the slug is the reason for that. It is not an instantly rewarding album, it requires that you listen as none of the songs are radio styled hits and there are no sing-along choruses to be found, the vocals are slow and sluggish like the album in itself. You should be prepared to give it time and attention if you want to get anything out of Eye the Tide.

Universes, space travelling slugs, fascinating drama and colossal soundscape are the building blocks that make this a great album. The space tide is coming towards you and there is no stopping it, it is quite brilliant. And if you like pysch-doom or any of the descriptions I have managed to finger-waltz into this review it is an album you should look very closely at. I don’t really think it has any weaknesses, it is a 55-minute adventure that engrosses the listener’s mind and in the end one has to conclude that this is a brilliant album. I have enjoyed it so I guess the time was really well spent, and it was something of a journey as well. Perhaps that journey part and the fact that it isn’t the most easily-accessible album out there could be construed as a weak point but this album isn’t for the weak minds that would see it that way anyway.

Great album, well worth checking out I think. It has everything that is needed, a cool artwork and some great music, what more can you ask for? Yeah, it is time well spent to take on this journey through great music.

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