EARTHSHIP

Earthship arrive with their sophomore album, 'Iron Chest'. And what a hard-hitting groovy metal beast of a record it is too. We're not talking any kind of polished grooves here; rather a sludgy, doomy affair that's rife with dirt-fuelled, down-tuned sonics where guitars grind through the mix with a menacing flair. As such, it's groove metal with aggressive and occasionally discordant persuasions. This is undoubtedly a strength of Earthship's music - erstwhile subgeneric foundations are there to be heard but the band build on those with an innovative swagger and incessantly confound listening expectations throughout the duration of the album. Varied time signatures lend the tracks a quasi-prog-edge (or "prog 'n' roll" if the press blurb is to be believed) on a suite of compositions that balance innovation with accessibility to perfection. Well, okay, only relative accessibility, I guess, as 'Iron Chest' won't be to the taste of everyone's music/metal proclivities but those who tire of the same old groove/doom outings from a plethora of plagiarists will have much to be excited about with Earthship's latest. And it's a distinct progression from the band's debut, 'Exit Eden'. Still present from last year's lineup are ex-The Ocean drummer Jan Oberg on vocals and guitar and drummer Dennis Boettcher. Gone are guitarist and The Ocean mainman Robin Staps (due to time constraints in his busy schedule), and bassist Bastian Gutschke (who apparently "literally disappeared from the map" just before a summer European tour in 2011). Oberg's wife, Sabine, has assumed bass duties and Earthship are merely a three-piece in 2012 although the heavy sound and innovative dynamic they kick out for just a trio is quite astonishing. And perhaps the change in personnel has injected a renewed vibe and energy into the band's aesthetic, hence partly accounting for their musical progression? Either way, they've delivered an album of prog-sludge intensity that's injected a much needed innovatory streak into the groove metal subgenre.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Pelagic Records

Album

IRON CHEST

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

43:30

RELEASE DATE:

15th Oct 2012

TRACK LISTING

1) Old Widow's Gloom
2) Athena
3) Iron Chest
4) Boundless Void
5) Eyes in the Night
6) Brimstone
7) Catharsis
8) Silver Decay
9) Shattered
10) Teal Trail

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Germany

"...an album of prog-sludge intensity that's injected a much needed innovatory streak into the groove metal subgenre."