Royal Talons - Crushing Denver Doom ...

Coming out of Denver, this three-piece known as Royal Talons are a doom band that are more than ready enough to take on the world with their uncompromising heaviness. The tracks that are available to hear on their Royal Talons Bandcamp Page reek of quality, whether it be the musicianship or the quality of the recordings, this band have it together in every department. Mixing sludge, doom, psychedelic, stoner metal, and some hints of drone, they are a diverse machine. Take a listen to 'Shark Skull' below this post for an example of the glorious guitar sound they possess; beautifully thick and fuzzy, it simply crushes. While the sabbathian riffing which is of the Electric Wizard and Church of Misery variety is nothing new, the emotive, melodic yet hollering vocals give the band a unique edge.

Each song on their Royal Talons Bandcamp Page is epic, long-ish slogging head nodders and there isn't a bad tune in the bunch. They have a quality of a long-established band and not just another band testing out reactions on a bandcamp page. Somebody needs to sign this band up and fast and get a full-length album out, the band is primed and ready to deliver the goods if these tracks are anything to go by. This is really my kind of doom, traditional but extremely sludgy, extreme but not bypassing melody. While the songs plod along for the most part, there is subtle tempo and atmospheric riff changes that catch the listener by surprise. 'The Scroll' is one of these tracks. Starting atmospheric and psychedelic with a hypnotic vibe, it builds into a nasty, violent piece of tortured doom along the lines of a Burning Witch or a Grief track and it doesn't quit from building in menacing intensity.

Each song has a charismatic individuality all of its own even though they are all slow, crawling riff-fests. Some are more psychedelic than others but they are all generally, mammoth, epic doom workouts, the kind that many try but few have mastered as good as this. They are not big on leads but when they do occur they have an ethereal beauty that is extremely chilling and refined. These are not just doom-songs, these are all musical journeys that take the mind into a world of altered perceptions and distorted imagery. This is proving to be the year of the bandcamp band and there is a lot of killer bands sharing their music through the site but this is easily one of the most professional and impressive. I have no choice but to give these tunes a 9.5/10.



Royal Talons @ Facebook
Royal Talons Bandcamp Page