Dopethrone’s third release, III, may not drop your jaw with album title creativity, but would you rather that time go into an album moniker or conjuring up a nasty batch of inebriated riffs heavier than a frozen mammoth? III is the exact number of times I lost control during my preliminary listen in my office and started headbanging at my desk. My co-workers are conditioned to ignore this by now.
I’ll admit I haven’t visited Montréal since the Expos were still in town, but if this music is any indication the city has become the feeding ground for some renegade demon who smokes cursed hash out of the skulls of god-fearing Christians. Dopethrone must rehearse their impossibly infectious sludge in a prehistoric cave somewhere barely out of the demon’s reach, war-painted with the black resin scraped from the shotgun barrels they resourcefully use as lethal bongs. They almost named this album “Hooked,” and for good reason. Not only is ”Hooked,” the opening track, one of the very best stoner songs I’ve ever heard, but this album will also have you twitching in withdrawal if significant times passes without Vince Houde’s riffs oozing into your ear holes.
Dopethrone’s brand of muddy, sinister doom laced with bluesy grooves rooted in denim-clad classic rock has never been more focused. These songs swagger and stomp with monstrous confidence, drooling beer and exhaling purple smoke in stride. While Houd’s vocals may send those unaccustomed to the harshest snarls scrambling for sanctuary, I delight in their putridity. It sounds like he pours moonshine on his breakfast cereal, sweetens it with basement-cooked meth, then washes it down with a pint of rusty razors. I feel like every hellish creature from the Spawn animated series should have been voiced by this dude. This music will grow a beard on a newborn baby.
There is also a recognizable sense of joy on this album; from the tongue-in-cheek audio samples to the grin-inducing song title “Devil’s Dandruff,” this is a band that wants you in on the joke. That doesn’t mean the songwriting lacks discipline, because each track earns its length (especially the colossal ten minute cut “Reverb Deep”). Just sometimes it takes a band like Dopethrone to remind us that some of the best heavy music is created by friends enjoying a six-pack or five, writing songs to amuse themselves and each other. Doom does not necessarily need to include gloom. Dopethrone’s III will make you happily groove to the sound of your own soul being ripped from your gaping pie-hole.
I must also state that as a completely DIY entity I have a huge amount of respect for Dopethrone. They will be at The Acheron in Brooklyn on March 30th and are well-worth the venture into Bushwick, where the sidewalks are perpetually littered with broken glass and dog shit. Hell, if there’s a way to smoke whatever you bring in on the bottom of your boots I’m sure these guys can teach you a trick or two.
Listen to Dopethrone immediately and purchase this amazing album for $6.66 at: http://dopethrone.bandcamp.com/
And become their favoritest Facebook follower over at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dopethrone/201732593171312
In a world where genres are hacked to pieces and stitched back together with hyphens I can easily say that Vaporizer are heavy metal. If you go hunting for sub-genres you will find them, but this is honest metal raised on meat, potatoes, and the wackiest of tobaccy.
Born in (the blackest forests surrounding) Burlington, VT, this quintet has vowed to “worship the weed god” and “party forever,” as their Facebook page reiterates multiple times. This is no trivial quest and lives have been dedicated to far less. The songs on their six track EP are crafted from an immortal love for the deity of reefer, a romance frowned upon in some (or most) states. I mean, who says you can’t love the dried version of a plant? I heard a lady was trying her damnedest to legally marry a roller coaster in Pennsylvania, and I can even appreciate the romance in that.
But this undying Peter Parker-esque adoration for Mary Jane has not at all softened the tales of treacherous woodlands and lethal creatures catalogued on their album. These songs pummel you into the battlefield soil and heal you with just enough melody to build your strength and trample you again. Songs like “Horn of the Narwhal” and “Beast With two Backs” feel like they could put you in a headlock so tight they could pop your tiny little noggin straight off your spine, but they might just give you a noogie and offer you a toke. The songs have muscle and momentum, they gallop into battle and don’t stop to enjoy the scenery. They enchant listeners with equal shares of melodic grandeur, neck-breaking groove and gut-punching ferocity with a true sense of purpose: Rocking you so hard you spill your Switchback Ale all over yourself.
Vocalist Dan Davidson sounds like an ancient warlock driven to the precipice of insanity. His range is impressive, from the gnarliest grunts to raspy shrieks that offer hints of Chance Garnette’s best work with Skeletonwitch. If you didn’t fear a narwhal before, Mr. Davidson will make you shit your britches when the beast appears in their song. I also need to say this band’s merch is gorgeously drawn by their talented drummer, Eli Wood. As a drummer and illustrator, though not nearly as skilled, I couldn’t let that plug squirm away from me. As for the guitars: They cut through cannon smoke and deliver massive hooks that you’ll hum hours after the battle ends. These guys have the chops and ingenuity to write no-nonsense metal anthems that feel totally effortless, when they’re anything but. These songs may not change your life, but they will give you a totally awesome buzz.
In the end, Vaporizer feel absolutely sincere while still playing with a smile on their faces, they’re aggressive without projecting menace. I was lucky enough to catch Vaporizer playing with Vektor recently at Saint Vitus, my absolute favorite haunt in the NYC area. They were playing on Valentine’s Day and while I don’t celebrate this holiday my girlfriend did accompany me for her very first metal show. Even she, who grimaces at the growls and screams of most extreme music acts, came away looking to endorse Vaporizer’s music. I guess if I was forced at sabre-point to pick a genre for Vaporizer it would be Gateway Metal. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Go listen to Vaporizer immediately at: http://vaporizer.bandcamp.com/
And learn more about these crazy gents at: http://www.vaporizermetal.com/
