Album Review- Druganaut -'Druganaut'

Location: Newcastle, UK

From the thunderous sludge of low-end pioneers Iron Monkey to the cosmic freak outs of Welsh legends Acrimony, the Brits have always somewhat of an edge on their European and American peers in terms of producing proper gritty, gnarly stoner/doom bands.You wouldn't expect much less from the isle that birthed Sabbath  ,but even then, the UK underground scene is an embarrassment of riches at times.From the bleak complexity  of HARK, to the off the wall rumblings of bands like Valfader and Wolfshead, it seems there's definitely  been something quite strong and possibly illegal  being funneled into the water/Carling over the last couple of years.Now another bunch of down tuned miscreants have arrived to pound your eardrums, drink all your good beer and probably fuck your girlfriend as soon as you've fallen asleep.Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Geordie monsters Druganaut, and their monolithic debut self  titled album.

From the opening chords of 'Smoke The Dead', its very clear we're not fucking around here:Druganaut are the real deal.No cute attempts at 'the vintage sound'.No silly fantasy lyrics(apart from the pervy, sexual kind, but more on that later) and absolutely no attempt to placate the Metal Hammer set with watered down pop choruses.This is heavy as balls, hard hitting stoner metal in the vein of Crowbar or early Down, a wicked riposte to a decade of Toni And Guy groomed posers with Washburn guitars and Top Shop Metallica Ts. Druganaut's ace in the hole is front man Craig Relf, a man who sounds like he gargles broken glass and whiskey first thing in the morning as a warm up.If Relf were to recite One Direction lyrics as poetry, it would still sound scary as fuck, and its his throaty contributions that stand out ,investing every note with soulful invective and earthy conviction.Lyrically, Relf imbues songs with a vein of black humour and sinister storytelling nous,coming across as both darkly colloquial and menacing as hell.

That's not to marginalize the rest of the band of course, and credit goes to guitarists Kyle Partridge and Adam Sheriff for some of the grooviest, catchiest riffs we've heard from a band of this ilk in quite some time.Witness the elephantine boogie of 'Carradine's Closet', a poor-taste but high gain  tribute to the late B-Movie legend, or the sinister intro to 'Sober Again' , and be reminded just why you fell in love with this kind of music in the first place.Granted, not every track is a classic('Sex Face' is just a little overcooked and doesn't really fit with the rest of the tracks in my honest opinion) but for the most part  'Druganaut'  is a great collection of songs, a steroidal rhythm section and strong production holding the whole thing together.

If,like me,you find latter day Down and COC utterly disappointing, and miss bands like Raging Speedhorn in your life, you could do far worse than giving 'Druganaut' a listen.Weighty, weedy grooves and planet sized riffing,it's time to shake your bones . . .

Rating:8/10

For fans of: Crowbar, Down, Raging Speedhorn, Two Tales Of Woe

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/druganautband

Band Profile: https://www.facebook.com/druganautband/app_2405167945

Underground Classic - Acrimony 'Tumuli Shroomaroom'(1997, Peaceville)

In the pantheon of great unsung doom/stoner acts, Acrimony are perhaps one of the best examples of a truly genius outfit that were sadly overlooked at the time, but are enjoying somewhat of a cult revival of late thanks to the magic of  the internet, and various stoner/doom/psyche related Facebook fan groups and a plethora of excellent stoner rock blogs(see the sidebar for starters).

Hailing from Swansea , Wales,also the hometown of BAN faves Taint , and comprising members of other seminal UK doom/stoner acts like Iron Monkey and Dukes Of Nothing, Acrimony's approach was a deceptively odd, eclectic one, a heady brew of what the band called 'shroom doom', a sound comprising of walls of Sabbath inspired riffing with odd detours through Hawkwind -esque space rock territory, and which is enscapulated perfectly in their penultimate full length effort, 'Tumuli Shroomaroom' .

Opening with the  grinding doom  of  'Hymns to the Stone', the album is that rare thing, a 'drug' influenced album that perfectly captures that feeling of lost summers spent getting high and lazing in long grass or, in my case, behind the local mini supermarket.Groovy, warm but also loaded with a menace and intent that adds weight to the fuzzed up riffola on offer.Indeed, just witness the monged  synth sounds that pepper the  gloomy march  that ends 'Hymns' , or the spacey, blissed out beauty of 'The Bud Song' to see that this was a band who clearly enjoyed an hallucinogenic or ten.The band's sound also delved into grungier territory at times, with the instantly infectious 'Million Year Summer' a definite radio hit that should have been, singer Dorian Walters's broken glass and fag ash voice surely a Brit counterpoint to John Garcia's sandblasted missives.

And when the band do choose to go a voyaging, or a picking rather in their case, as in the ten minute slow building monster 'Heavy Feather', or the closing 'stomp of 'Firedance', they do so in a way that is never less than immediately accessible, and the album  'Tumuli Shroomaroom 'mostly recalls, especially in the aforementioned 'Firedance' 's voodoo boogie, is Sabbath's immortal VOL 4, the point where  they really began to push the boat out and explore somewhat more psychedelic waters, and this is the perfect reference point for Acrimony's startling, red eyed explorations in sonic bombast .Sound wise as well , it's a perfect distillation of all that is good about stoner rock , the warmth of analogue equipment and Orange amps , and gain controls  pushed just a little too hard, but most of all the feel of a band genuinely enjoying what they do.

Of course they might be gone, but their legacy remains(yeah yeah we know, STONE 'ENGE  and all that) , in bands like the excellent whiskey soaked rock of SIGIRIYA , and the wonderfully  filthy crust tinged heaviness  of Lifer. Just proof that there are those out there who still prize the power of the riff above all else . . .

For fans of: Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard, Orange Goblin, Wizards Of Firetop Mountain, Sleep
Stephen O' Connor
bornagainnihilist@gmail.com