This EP kicks off with 'Urethane' and they would be making their influences proud with some tasty, fuzzy stoner-doom riffing and a kind of energy which sits somewhere in-between Dozer and Truckfighters. The track is doomy but mostly bubbles along at a mid-tempo pace but what really got me is the vocals. They are delivered with a kind of two-part harmony and that is where my beef with this band begins.....basically it is just gets irritating to me, very quickly. However there are great riffs, fine melodies and as the next track 'I Reptilian' shows, these guys know how to write an infectious tune while staying doom laden and melancholic. The album art with the hot sun blasting through the trees is very fitting because this does have the frying in the desert kind of vibe. The Kyuss desert-rock vibe is all over this even though they live in the bleakness of the UK midlands.
As the EP continues with 'Mercian' and 'Babylon' the riffs and grooves keep on coming but so do does the barber-shop styled vocals and 20 minutes into the EP and I am still having a problem in getting past it. The vocals are unique, no question there but they seem to more of a distraction to the music more than anything else at this point. For me personally, that is a pity because there is something happening here that is very good but the vocals wreck the vibe.....well at least for me they do. The EP ends on another good tune with 'Year of Blood' which features more very good thick riffing but more of those vocals which seem better suited for a pop band than a stoner-doom kind of act. This is a difficult EP to recommend but I can't totally dismiss it either. There is great riffing going on, strong melodies and instantly head-bangable tempos but something is not quite right. The vocals play a large part in that but there is also another element missing from the puzzle. This is one release you have to judge for yourself.
Words: Sally Bethhall
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