Review: Warmask - Warmask (self-titled EP)
Warmask is an upcoming act from Baltimore, Maryland who
states they are influenced by bands ranging from Motorhead, Black Sabbath, and The
Melvins, to Corrosion Of Conformity, and Clutch, and more.
Including musicians like bassist Louis
Strachan from the legendary Doom Metallers Iron Man, their new self-titled
EP has just been released in February. The album begins with the ultra heavy
“The Art of Hypocrisy”, sounding almost indeed something like if Motorhead,
Clutch, and Black Sabbath collaborated on a song.
The riff’s Children of the
Grave like feel propels the song to a grungy climax, complete with wah solos. The
vocals are an interesting aspect of the band, as others have said, the first
thing I thought was Ian Astbury of the cult meets maybe King Buzzo.
I’ve got to
admit the rougher strains of the voice may be done a bit more convincing than
the crooning parts, which mysteriously don’t really appear on the rest of the
album (would've been interesting to hear more). I also hear some backing keyboards/organs, which makes the song more
tasty (and are featured in the background of 3 more songs).
The second song, Sin America, is a galloping jam that has
more of a rocking feel, and pointed political lyrics with a Sabbath like
breakdown. Dual guitars in this band make it more interesting than your average
3-piece stoner act, or even some of the two-piece acts becoming more common
nowadays. They create a wall of sound that weaves riffs in and out and serves
the band well with riff interplay.
Speaking of Stoner Rock/Metal, the third song, Weather the
Storm definitely has that vibe, being something that recalls Matt Pike’s
various bands and projects over the years. It has some spacey stoner lyrics as
well. One benefit of this band’s musical palette is the different tempo changes
and musical changeups in general. This song is no exception as it gears into
some cool changes come solo time.
The fourth song, No Turning Back, has a cool melodic riff
and slow crawl that comes in with some tasty leads. This song is a bit more
stripped down than some of the prior ones, but the leads definitely elevate the
song.
The Stand is next, and goes into the more Stoner/Sludgey
territory again. It’s more of a boogie, shuffling beat. Featuring more
political lyrics, the vocals on this song, they go a bit over the top, though
the riffs and the dual guitars on this song are especially of note.
The next song, World Decay, is a full on Motorhead jam, and
definitely a highlight on the album. I dug the vocals on this song quite a bit
better than the previous song as well, as they seem to have a smoother
delivery.
Overall, Warmask has bounds of potential and you can
definitely expect them to make waves in the future. The production on the album
is excellent, almost reminding me of Steve Albini’s better moments, having a
raw but smooth, and not an overly compressed sound that seems to still be the rage
after the “loudness war” has been won already.
I especially liked how they
captured the dual guitars and were able to balance it out with the bass guitars
and create a huge heavy, chunky, wall of sound without sacrificing clarity.
As
a producer myself, I know how difficult that can be. I think the instrumental
performances are all on a high level.
Now, for some of the negative aspects. I think the main criticism
I would put towards the album are the vocals. While I definitely know what
they’re going for, I think some of the performances could have been smoothed
out in a certain way, which seems ironic while going for a “rougher” style, but
nevertheless, I like the style, just thought at times the performances
vocal-wise could have been strengthened a bit.
A lot of times though, repeated
listens can make a listener get used to certain vocalists, it was not the style
itself that I am referring to, just some of the performance itself (especially
on The Stand).
This band has potential to be huge for fans of their listed
influences, and more, and we can expect them to go on to greater things in the
future.
You can find more information about Warmask from the
following link:
Comments