Saturday 11 February 2017

Mountain God - Bread Solstice (Album Review)


Release date: March 24th 2017. Label: Artificial Head Records. Format: DD/Vinyl

Bread Solstice – Tracklisting

1.Scaling The Silver Steps
2.Nazca Lines
3.Karmic Truth
4.Junglenaut
5.Unknown Ascent
6.Hymn To Nothing

Band Members

Ben Ianuzzi - Guitar/Vocals
Nikhil Kamineni - Bass
Ryan Smith - Drums

Review

Mountain God’s new album – Bread Solstice – is an atmospheric doom metal offering where the band take their time playing psychedelic based riffs. Harsh sounds collide with heavy doom/post-metal riffs on the excellent opening track – Scaling The Silver Steps. The song is a gloomy and bleak throughout though the band explore different examples of ambient/drone noises. The song is mainly instrumental though the band includes harsh distorted vocals towards the end.

Second track– Nazca Lines - has the same dark approach as the opening track however Mountain God start to add a more groove laiden element to their music. It takes a while for the song to start as the band merge ambient noises and doom/drone vibes to a familiar post-metal backdrop. The screeching vocals change the whole tone as the song becomes something more powerful. The delicately slow-played riffs evoke memories of ISIS (The Band) and Neurosis who were laying the post-metal foundations all those years ago.

The mood and overall atmosphere of Bread Solstice doesn’t really change from this moment on as the band has created a highly captivating sound from the opening two tracks alone. The band explores other musical avenues such as Psych, Post-Rock, Ambient and Drone. Mountain God show they’re not afraid to experiment with their sound.

Songs such as: Karmic Truth, Unknown Ascent and Hymn To Nothing – allow Mountain God experiment with their sound yet again especially on Karmic Truth. As the band play a faster style of Doom/Post-Metal with a ferocious punk vibe being heard at different parts of the song. Hymn To Nothing is perhaps the standout song as it sees Mountain God delivering a superior take on all things Experimental Doom/Post-Metal.

Mountain God isn’t your usual Doom/Post-Metal band. As these guys thrive experimenting with their sound. Each song has a different feel and you never know what to expect. The gloomy atmospherics is what hold everything together as Mountain God aren’t afraid to allow the swirling psychedelic nature of the album to become the centre of their universe. Mountain God still manage to find the time to play some epic riffs for you to lose yourself in. Bread Solstice has the right balance of sonic experimentation and classic doom/post-metal style riffs.

Bread Solstice marks the arrival of a very important band as Mountain God has delivered a statement of intent with this album. A truly captivating album.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Richard at Sheltered Life PR for the promo. Bread Solstice will be available to buy on DD/Vinyl via Artificial Head Records from March 24th 2017.

Links: