Wall - Wall

We were told to always look on the bright side of life by Monty Python, which was admittedly difficult in 2020 when we were forced into lockdown due to a global pandemic. But with musicians staying at home instead of playing shows, we've started to see albums, EPs and new projects altogether come to fruition that may well not have happened otherwise. Wall is the latest lockdown project we can feast our ears on, formed by Ryan and Elliot Cole of Desert Storm and The Grand Mal. This five-song EP is a monolithic slab of instrumental sludge metal (mostly), full of big riffs written at home by the twins before they headed to the studio in the summer of last year to get them down.

'Wrath of the Serpent', the EP's first single, has epic, sprawling riffage and dual guitars before they make way for a sudden escalation in tempo, and the song turns into a frantic, thrashing High on Fire-esque ripper with well-controlled drumming. The song evolves, with furious, fiddly guitar lines and the Coles' typical progressive flourishes, as some of the riffs don't always follow a straight 4/4 beat. This adds interest, but not in a dull, pretentious way. This is the type of music that will be enjoyable for any sludge/stoner/doom fan who likes to push their speakers to the brink of blowing out, but also has a subtle intelligence to it, where you find something different or an extra layer with each new listen. 'Sonic Mass' leans more towards slow heaviness than the all-out aggression in 'Wrath of the Serpent'. Opening with swirling, psychedelic feedback, it really lulls you into a trance over its runtime. Its intro is devastatingly heavy, but there is time given for more textured, melodic riffs that balances out effectively.

'Obsidian' is a titanic, droning slow burner, the sonic equivalent of having your head kicked in repeatedly, with guitars detuned to oblivion and pounding yet simple drums that show that sometimes, less is more. The gentle lead guitar lines over the top nod towards bands like Neurosis, a clear influence especially on the more recent Desert Storm albums. In this way, for listeners already acquainted with the Coles' better-known work, these songs seem familiar enough, with their trademark style. Yet the sound here is clearly of its own. For one, it doesn't need vocals; the absence of which goes largely unregistered over the EP's runtime. The guitar riffing especially fills out any gaps in the listener's mix during 'Obsidian', which is just monstrous throughout, a career highlight for heaviness in the Coles' back catalogue. I already know that this will be the one from the EP I'll have on repeat for the next few months.

'Legion' is the most experimental and ambitious on here, as it goes through different sections, keys and passages, although never feeling 'lost' at any moment. The drumming especially stands out during this song; after a head-nodding intro, there's tasteful fills, and Elliot switches up a Sabbathy stoner groove with relentless, pounding aggression seemingly under the radar midway through. The ambition pays off well and the strong result speaks for itself. A cover of 'Electric Funeral' rounds everything off, with Dave from The Grand Mal giving a fun (and convincing) Ozzy-style performance. Can't go wrong with a bit of Sabbath worship, can you? Again, you don't really notice that there hasn't been any vocals up to the start of the first verse until the verse actually starts, and this speaks volumes about the material on here.

It's good to see the guys experiment and keep their music fresh with a fully instrumental release. I just hope we get a follow-up; four original songs doesn't seem enough!

For fans of riffs, Mastodon, Neurosis, Desert Storm and riffs

MN

Wall will be out via APF on Friday - get it on Bandcamp here