Ireland’s Slomatics last made themselves known through a split EP with current doomy darlings Conan, so it’s only right that they build on the momentum from that release. A Hocht is their third album in a career that’s trundled on since 2004 and true to form, it’s a direct, no-frills bit of doom that doesn’t outstay its welcome, curtly buggering off after about 35 minutes.
It’s not as devastatingly, apocalyptically life-affirming (or indeed, ending) as some other doom/sludge releases we’ve experienced this year (step forward Black Sheep Wall and Love Sex Machine) but they know their way around a primal, molasses riff. The vocals don’t stand out too much, though, buried under the noise and layered with distortion, but then no one really listens to this stuff for the lyrics do they?
A Hocht is dynamic, explodes in all the right places and is made for those who think that standard tuning on guitars is for know-nothing squares. This is hocht stuff.
