By Monk
There is something about Swedish bands that always seems to make them place a unique twist on the generic miens into which those outside might wish to pigeonhole them. Firebreather are another such exemplar, blending their dense doom base sound with huge elements of groove and stoner, with generous dose of sludge and Scandinavian turborock sensibilities thrown in for good measure.
This, the trio’s third album, lives up to its title, as it delivers a sound that is denser and thicker than a peasouper of yore, embracing and immersing you in its density and thickness that leads to you lose all sense of time and place as you let it wash over and around you and you lose yourself in its majestically claustrophobic feel.
Opener ‘Kiss Of The Blade’ combines dank, drawn-down riffage with a sense of almost symphonic eloquence which extrapolates the underlying simplicity of the sound, and pervades the duration of the album, which features just six tracks but nevertheless clocks in at an impressive 39 minutes (and one second, for the purists out there!). Mattias Nööjd’s vocals are acerbic and guttural, yet also possess an innate sense of harmony and melody that is emphasized in the power and precision of the musical contributions, with dense, almost daemonic, moments of hellish darkness beautifully counterpointed with those of soaring elegance.
The overall result is an entrancing and hypnotic album. One which appeals on every level, and which demands to be heard (and, of course, purchased) by every serious lover of seriously heavy, doom-laden, headband-inducing riffage.
- ‘Dwell In The Fog’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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