May 2020: Top Picks - Desert Storm, The Sonic Dawn, Horisont

Something about a witty comment to do with lockdown. It's been over two months now, yet the days still roll into one? I really could do with a job. Fortunately, I get to write about amazing artists and put it as 'work' in my social media bios. May's been another good month for new music. Surprisingly for a blog with 'doom' in its title, two of these are some of the most feel-good albums I've heard in a while. Maybe we should rebrand.

Desert Storm - Omens (sludge/progressive metal) - APF Records

I'd been looking forward to Desert Storm's fifth full length for a while. There had been a real run of form for the Storm coming into Omens, with every new release just getting better and better. Their live shows with the likes of Raging Speedhorn, CoC and Boss Keloid had really gone down a storm (alright, I'll stop with the storm-related jokes now, sorry) and then each single that they brought out before Omens finally dropped brought up more and more anticipation for the final product. From the progressive 'Black Bile', twisting in and out of key changes, to 'The Machine', crushing and detuned to oblivion, to 'Pain, Grief and Suffering', the ugly, sludgy final single, the scene was already set for a modern classic. The rest of the album delivers just as well. 'Vengeful Gods', the only song that Desert Storm had played live from Omens prior to its release, gets the heads banging away - cleverly so, given the complex musical ideas beneath the surface - and sees the band's first use of vocal harmonies in their career. 'Lockjaw' has some fantastic riffs that sound like early Mastodon. But there's plenty of melody, too, such as 'The Path of Most Resistance', with its psychedelic, desert rock tinges that show off Matt Ryan's impressive bass vocal range, as well as 'Rebirth', a beautiful, acoustic closing track. Omens is not only their heaviest album so far, but their most cohesive-sounding as a band who have previously allowed a wide range of musical influences into their sound. Without meaning to take anything away from their fantastic older effort, they now sound completely focussed on a style that hits like a sledgehammer (a sludge hammer?) yet still innovates and brings in something new for them as a band. It gets better with each listen, and you pick up a little detail every time that you missed the last spin round. I was about to write a list of my favourite songs from Omens to close this paragraph, before I realised I'd typed out half the track listing. Just listen to the album, it's well worth your time.

Read my MMH Radio review here

The Sonic Dawn - Enter the Mirage (psychedelic rock/pop) - Heavy Psych Sounds

A slightly different vibe to the apocalyptic album above, Copenhagen trio The Sonic Dawn invite us on a trip away from the grey grimness of the modern world. A record about freedom (and presumably, about taking a load of psychedelic drugs), Enter the Mirage is a refreshingly feel-good album with a sound that borrows confidently and unapologetically from the flower-power scene of the late 1960s. With a lot of modern 'retro' bands taking influence from the darker, grittier 1970s heavy metal and heavy rock sound, it's nice to hear something different on the scene. Enter the Mirage could be a lost album from that era, recorded with their vintage gear and tasteful songwriting. But they benefit from being in the 21st century, as all the studio tricks and effects that were still experimental and rough around the edges back then have been honed to stylistic perfection for The Sonic Dawn to utilise. 'Join the Dead', for example, makes use of great multi-tracked vocal effects that make you feel like you're floating off into the clouds. 'Young Love, Old Hate' and 'Hits of Acid' start off the album as concise, to-the-point tracks that are over within two and a half minutes. In particular, 'Hits of Acid' and also 'Children of the Night', a bit later on, are full of that gentle, warm euphoria that you get from their vintage style. Yet 'Loose Ends' and the title track flirt with the somewhat unsettling side of psychedelia, too, proving that Enter the Mirage is more than just one-dimensional. The Sonic Dawn use organs and sitars in the mix to make their journey back to the late 60s even more authentic, and the tasteful guitar playing and non-formulaic approach to songwriting remind us just how good bands like The Doors, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Beatles (in their perpetually chemically altered days) were. Of course, they won't be releasing anything new, but if you're looking to scratch that itch, then you have to listen to Enter the Mirage.

Read my MMH Radio review here

Horisont - Sudden Death (hard/prog rock) - Century Media Records

Another retro rock band from Scandinavia, but again, slightly different from the trending vintage style, Horisont's sixth effort is noticeably powerful and euphoric to the ear. It's got strong elements of Kansas, Status Quo and Springsteen throughout - but instead of sounding stuck in the past, incredibly, it comes across as fresh and compelling. Compared to their other albums, it's driven by pianos a lot more, giving it a big, uplifting feel - although this is mostly due to frontman Axel writing the songs at his piano more than any conscious decision. Nonetheless, it gives the album a tangible vitality and positive attitude. I never really thought myself as someone who liked heavy pianos or synths in my rock music, even though it was the first instrument I learned to play on myself, but it's hard not to feel good and smile as the intro to 'Revolution' rolls in, or nod along to the catchy 'Into the Night'. In this sense, there are plenty of pop sensibilities on this album, but it definitely isn't a pop album - I guess a good song is always going to be a good song. Most of the album follows in this popular mid-1970s rock style, but there's room for variety too, such as 'Gråa Dagar', sung entirely in Swedish, or the progressive, sprawling 'Archaeopteryx in Flight', twisting in and out of different time signatures. Second track 'Free Riding' takes a real left turn midway through, going from one style to another. It's not all keyboards - there's mountains of great twin-guitar leads and Axel Söderberg's voice is in stellar form. And although he sings uplifting, rich and pure melodies, Sudden Death is inspired by the passing of his best friend. Once you know this, you can hear the cathartic quality of this record, which has more to it than getting high on it and never coming back. 'The living just don't know what they are not, or what they've got', Axel ponders wistfully on 'Sail On'. It doesn't stop him finding the time to proudly raise a middle finger high, though, as he sings 'I don't care what you say, it don't matter anyway' on 'Pushin' the Line', an infectious rock banger. And it's these catchy old-school rockers that ultimately form the lasting impression. Yeah, it's been done before, but it's been a while since this kind of sound felt so good.

MN