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Dopethrone are a three piece Sludge/Doom band hailing from the hot damp swamps of Montréal/Quebec/Canada..., wait... no I confuse that. The swamp is not around them, it’s inside of them. I am sure these three guys have no blood running through their veins, but filthy sticky mud, pumped through their bodies by blues filled hearts. They don’t breathe air, but dark smoke and blow it right into your face.
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| Photo by François Carl Duguay. |
Ever since they released their first album Demonsmoke in 2009 I’m in love with Dopethrone. Their second album Dark Foil (2011) just deepened this love and III (2012) opened the gate to sludge heaven... , no hell, I mean hell of course, since III is pure evil blues/rock driven raw abrasive sludge doom with an occult-ish aggressive mood veiled in sweet smelling smoke so thick you can hardly breathe or see through. III is like all of Dopethrone’s albums a completely D.I.Y. project!!!
The opening track “Hooked” got me hooked indeed immediately by the creepy film sample in the beginning and the first crushing riff. Already the second song “Reverb Deep” grabs at my soul with its dark sinister mood and spellbinding guitar part and I’m lost. “Storm Reefer” and Devil’s Dandruff” are dynamic rides straight into hell and “Cult Leader” is another slow heavy, heavy and heavy blues ridden killer I have no words for. (I have, but I don’t say them.)
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| Photo by François Carl Duguay. |
The influences are obvious... Electric Wizard, Bongzilla, Black Sabbath, Eyehategod, Weedeater... to name just a few. All five songs are so very focused and direct, that their bundled energy hits hard. Thick heavy punishing riffs, tons of distortion numb my mind to ease the way for the demonically (heavenly/hellish) snarling vocals to spit their venom into my heart. Slow contagious grooves dig their way through my flesh and bone and the recurring (but different) audio clips add a creepy horror movie atmosphere.
A perfect satanic alliance that gets you addicted to your own destruction.
[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]
