The Deadists - Time Without Light

The Deadists from Sweden are in the unique position of being a stoner meets doom metal band that is influenced by the usual suspects like Black Sabbath, Entombed, Hawkwind, High On Fire, Sleep and The Melvins and yet don't sound like any of these bands. Bringing a fresh approach to this genre of music is always a achievement and The Deadists have done that with their new EP. Formed in 2001, finding information on the band isn't easy so i will have to let the music do most of the talking here. The EP was by produced by Sven Jensen (M.A.N; Hide the Knives, Sister Sin, Outshine, Transport League) and mastered by Göran Finnberg (Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, Opeth, M.A.N) so you know the sound is always going to be of a high quality. Kicking off with the track "Woven", it has a fuzzy guitar sound and a aggressive attack especially from the vocals of Joacim who has a commanding voice. Some nice riff changes move from a stoner groove to slower doom laden passages, a great wailing guitar solo section and its all backed up by a great pounding rhythm section of Paul on bass and the viscous yet precise drumming of Markus. Calling them stoner rock doesn't do the band justice really, they are just a fine, powerful hard rock band. "Human Stain" is even more aggressive in some ways with a crunching riff and rolling, thumping drum pattens. The twisting, churning riff that the song has is a killer attack but it also has a catchy appeal. It has the darkness of Sabbath with the commercial assess-ability of early Clutch but the riffs don't sound like anyone else, they have managed to create some that is fresh and invigorating.

Moving on "Infinite Self", the band takes on a darker, moodier vibe, slogging out a pounding doom groove with some great chugging twists and turns. A pure headbanging burner it grooves along for over 6 minutes and is my pick as best track on the EP.
The duel guitar work of Anders and Peter are in perfect sync and deliver a flawless performance, the track never loses intensity and its raw power. "Deeper Within" has a more mellow beginning while still remaining heavy, it slowly builds up to a dramatic conclusion but is the most one-dimensional tune on the EP. Not a let-down by any means, just lacking the twists and turns of the previous tracks. The final track here is "Chase The Giving" with a monolithic bass intro, its another track that builds in its intensity. Blending psychedelic vocal sections and some pure fuzzed out guitar work, its a expression of dark intent till you get to the last half of the track when they raise the tempo to a pulverizing ending. This is without a doubt one of the surprises of the year so far, original, dynamic and extremely raw but with a fair amount of metallic polish, The Deadists should establish themselves as one of the new leading lights in the Swedish stoner doom scene but being so fresh and original sounding might mean some people may have a hard time putting a musical tag on them. Call it whatever you want but The Deadists mean business with "Time Without Light", good stuff. 9/10
The Deadists @ MySpace

NOTE: Sorry about the rather small cover image, its all i could find - Ed.