ALBUM REVIEW: Doom Sessions Vol.3 – -(16)- and Grime
We all love a collab. When the end goal isn’t a mere marketing ploy, the phenomena of artistic worlds colliding can be something to truly behold and widen the eyes. Champions of fuzz and year-long riffs, Heavy Psych Sounds, know this better than anyone. Since 2020’s halfway mark, the label launched its Doom Sessions project – a series of split LP’s showcasing some of heavy psych and doom metal’s most compelling figureheads. The results, so far, have been fruitful. Two splits have seen the pairing of CONAN and DEADSMOKE alongside the ensembling of 1782 and ACID MAMMOTH – the resulting lack of restraint and raw reverberation feels as close to a live gig as we can come to nowadays; grab yourself an overpriced beer and you’re pretty much there. As 2021 lands amongst weighty expectation for a better future, so too does the third instalment of gloom and doom with the reigns being handed to worthy stalwarts -(16)- and Italy-hailing tooth-cutters GRIME. The result? Positively filthy.
Doom Sessions Vol.3 would be wise to come with a health warning as, despite a mere 24-minutes in runtime, you’ll find yourself checking your ear canal is still in one piece after GRIME plays their final note of putridity. The cranium-cracking comes courtesy of US sludge/hardcore heavyweights -(16)- – only having recently dropped their latest and finest opus Dream Squasher – and GRIME, the Italian trio whose latest work is more akin to a DEATH record that’s been driven through a refuse heap (and yet somehow that was meant as a compliment).
With -(16)- taking point, their three-track run follows much of the groove-abiding arrangements fans will be comfortable with but dials-back slightly on their hardcore tendencies. Instead, opener Tear It Down even flirts with interludes of fluttering synths and a greater fixation on melody overall – a welcome callback to some of the bands’ earlier, more obscure work. Having said this, you’d be a fool to think that 16 has decided to operate with the subtlety of anything other than a freight train careering into a bridge. Riff after riff, they deliver. Tear It Down, especially, can be hard to keep up with as it hurls itself into new tempos and grooves with little warning whilst the 1-2 punch is completed by Death On Repeat which takes no trouble in mirroring the MASTODON shades of light and dark with a hook that is somehow enchanting and vile all at once. There’s never been much reason to doubt the quartet in their abilities but creating such an acerbic and diverse wall of sound in just two songs – the likes of which could fulfil an entire tracklist – is astonishing.
Nachzehrer rounds off the triplet of tracks nicely – taking the path of a demonic march through hell with little space for melody – and leaves the stage well set for their European counterparts to complete this marriage of mire. GRIME is awarded two tracks and just under 12-minutes of tape and they were clearly chomping at the bit to get started. Piece of Flesh is as primal as the name would suggest but with the speed and stability of a Piece of Flesh that had been shot out of a cannon. Through a deft strategy of ‘fifty shades of blegh’, GRIME garners more anticipation for their work amongst the bubbling underground – continuing with this restless blend of heavy doom and OSDM.
It’s an intense listen, -(16)-‘s tracks being closer to a warm embrace when compared to GRIME’s aural sandpaper, but the intrepid tempo-play and caustic shrieks are always fronted by drummer Chris Musich and his indomitable beats that bring a sense of order to the band’s penchant for chaos. If any complaint could be levelled in their direction, and perhaps to the LP as a whole, is that this partnership deserves something a bit more long-term. It would certainly defeat the purpose of the splits, that which being closer to the realisation of a doom metal fantasy league, but it’s hard not to want the full 60-minutes that undoubtedly could have happened.
Alas, we should be grateful that this bond was sealed in such unholy matrimony, yielding the best pairing the Doom Sessions have yet to reveal thus far. Each band put its best foot forward, -(16)- gracefully testing waters both old and new and GRIME continuing to carve themselves a path through the entangled undergrowth of anonymity – another arrow in their quiver, poised to take more faint hearts. Doom Sessions Vol.3, then, is an auspicious and pretty unmissable sign of things to come. Both bands have a great deal more to offer, so with the vows exchanged and the ceremony at an end, we wait at the reception for more.
Rating: 8/10
Doom Sessions Vol. 3 is set for release February 26th via Heavy Psych Sounds.
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