By DJ Monk
This, the fourth album from fuzzed-out Finnish stoners Demonic Death Judge, is described as “a spiritual whirlwind within a troubled soul”, and you can see exactly where it’s creators are coming from in such an assertion, as ‘The Trail’ takes us on a journey which is both exploratory and troubling, for reasons I shall now explain…
It is an explores every nook and cranny of the doom/sludge/stoner miens, from the massive Butler-esque bass stanchions of Eetu Lehtinen through the taut, almost laconic percussion of Lauri Pikka, who has that knack of leaving out unnecessary extrapolation to add to the overall minimalistic impact of the finished product, to Toni Raukola’s winding, hypnotic riffs and breaks and Jaakko Heinonen’s bare, poignant and dense vocal patterns, which see him use his throat more as an additional instrument rather than a mere purveyor of words.
‘The Trail’ takes the listener on an extremely interesting sonic journey, with plenty of twists, turns and changes of direction along the way, all the while adhering to the basic route and objective which it sets for itself. It has a clarity of vision but one which is coupled with a nous for knowing that, if it veers even more than slightly off the well-trodden path which it seeks to follow, it will find its way back to same. It is not afraid to bush back the branches which block its vision, knowing that its goal is clearly in sight on the other side of the undergrowth.
The result is a majestic album. One which rises to the peaks of the mountains depicted on its artwork, plants its flag proudly on their summits, and declares itself proud to have completed its ascent. Yes, it is a path which has been trodden many times before, and DDJ are not the first band to have successfully achieved their goal; they have not broken new ground, nor have they found a previously explored passage to the peak, but what they have done is reward their focus on the end goal with a taut, accomplished and highly impressive album, which will appeal to all fans of the mien which they mine (sic).
- ‘The Trail’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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