HEADS UP: Aspen - Winds of Revenge EP ...

Housed in a stunning cardboard sleeve, 'Winds of Revenge' the début EP by Portuguese instrumental metallers Aspen and it might not be ground-breaking but it is mind-blowingly good. What is so potent is the blend of styles which keeps these 5 tracks constantly throwing the listener a curveball. They have moments of High on Fire metallic intensity but they also have some crushing doom passages. Add to that some post-rock progressive leanings and that makes this a well above-average stoner-metal release. The EP opening into 'Arashi' perfectly sets the mood for the slightly prog-metal but very metallic 'Autopsy Headcrush' which is deceptive in its complexities. The more tricky side to the bands arrangements becomes even more evident later in the EP and it only takes a few spins of this disk to realize there is a hell of a lot more to these songs than what first meets the eardrums.

'Autopsy Headcrush' works by blending post-metal/rock with pure stoner-fuzz goodness and a touch of prog-metal wizardry and it makes this four minutes of insanely infectious head-bangable music. The title track that follows is short and straight to the point. It doesn't signal any major shifts in style but it does sound unique in light of the two tracks that come next. This is when the EP makes a sudden dramatic switch into the doom direction, relying more on ambience and atmosphere and these songs are epic pieces. The remaining two tracks take up three times the amount of playing time than the three tracks that come before it. They are two nine-minute epic tracks that managed to squeeze in more than an average albums worth of ideas in the 18 minutes that run this disk out to its conclusion.

'Like Crows, They Drop' blends stonerish doom Sleepisms; there is even a section in there that sounds like a re-write of the Sleep classic 'Dragonaut' but there is also so much else going on. Combing modern stoner rock with doom with 70's rock ambient progressiveness, this track is a captivating piece of music. The changes within the song are handled with the utmost smoothness and they also fit in some insane grooves. The last track 'Owing to Lilith' is also 9 minutes long but like the tune that comes before it, you never noticed the extended length of the piece. It is a bit less doom than what is on 'Like Crows, They Drop' as they bring back some of the faster metallic groove that features in the EP's opening tracks. There are starts, stops, changes in tempos and directions and that ultimately keeps this track memorable. Any band that can fit more than two infectious moments into a song is usually on a winner anyway and tracks like this one have at least 5 or 6 moments that are jaw-dropping good. There is even a surprise organ section which can send a chill up the spine.

The sound on this EP is loud and crushing. The guitar work is excellent and loaded with glorious fuzz but without being irritatingly so. There are a range of heavy guitar styles from the simple hard rock riffing to doomy chugging to the complex psychedelic and jammy. The drum sound is huge and they way the drummer pounds his way around the toms is exciting and energetic stuff. I don't know how old these guys are but they already sound like accomplished players and song-writers. The future is looking good for this band. Can't wait to hear more.....9/10.


Aspen | Facebook