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This album cover might be enough to scare away the more discerning fans, but we here aren’t paid to run away in fear or confusion. Nor are we paid enough to afford a pair of 3D glasses, which might be handy to see this artwork in its intended form. It is a messed-up, psychedelic trip of an image, to be sure, and in some ways it foreshadows what is to come on Seeds, the third album from Swedish doom/sludge/psych trio Domkraft. Being unfamiliar with the band, I relied on the usual glut of namedrops that came with the album: Sleep, Monster Magnet, Electric Wizard, and more, all bands I can get behind at high volumes. After one listen to Seeds, I knew Domkraft could be added to this list as well.
Domkraft open Seeds with the title track, and just a hint of spacey-ness as it launches. I could be wrong about this, but I get the sense at times that Anders Dahlgren pushes the tempo with his drumming, giving the music an underlying sense of panic or anxiety, as though the song is about to take off into a dimension to which it does not belong. Martin Wegeland follows suit with his singing style, which varies from urgent and bordering on hysteria to more laid-back, almost drawled or mumbled. In both cases he is very effective. Wegeland also plays bass, and “Perpetuator” starts with a ponderous fuzzy bass riff. It’s a more drawn-out, psychedelic song, showcasing the band’s ability to shift seamlessly from doom to sludge to psych and back again.
Martin Widholm is a master of tone, fuzz, and wah on the guitar. “Into Orbit” features swirling guitars beneath an outstanding vocal arrangement, giving the song a sense of imminent disaster, while “Dawn of Man” features even more interstellar guitar licks. Album closer “Audiodome” is the biggest, longest track, with a monstrous riff and dive bomb guitars in the verses. It goes hard for over five minutes before dropping down into a more atmospheric shrug of exhaustion, gradually winding down the tempo into Pallbearer-like doom fare and dying out in a mound of rolling feedback. Also of slower tempo is “Tremors,” which features the most spaced-out guitar work on the album, with shimmering tones slathered in vibrato, wah, fuzz, and anything else one can poke a stick at.
Missteps are few and far between. The short interlude “Krank Blekhet” could definitely have been expanded out into a full song; here on Seeds it is one minute that isn’t needed. Space and air are at a premium here as well. Domkraft hit hard and don’t stop hitting for long. That’s not even remotely a bad thing, but it would have been interesting to hear the band experiment in even more psychedelic ways. Something to look forward to on the next album, perhaps? Beyond this there are no gripes. The production fits the music. It is a wall of sound, and it’s hard to imagine a thicker, more all-consuming mix than what we are given. Blasting forth from any speakers, Seeds is full of aural destructive intensity.
Seeds is an album slathered in bottom end, fuzz, and wah pedals. It lurks on the outskirts of hysteria without ever treading in. It is a wall of sludgy, psychedelic doom, featuring riffs as massive as 4.0ldeneye’s quads, as thick as Cherd’s glorious mane, and as unrelenting as Steel Druhm pounding on us for more reviews. It’s certainly the most effective platter of its kind so far this year, and one that will continue to get a ton of airplay beyond April.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Magnetic Eye Records
Websites: domkraft.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/domkraftband
Releases Worldwide: April 30th, 2021
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Sat May 08 12:58:04 GMT 2021