ALBUM REVIEW: IV – Archdruid
In a recent article on Distorted Sound, Live Review Editor Eddie Sims discussed the art of the long song. Explaining how the level of song writing and patience it takes to create a single track that can last for tens of minutes at a time and manage to maintain the attention of the listener throughout has to be incredibly high. A band that is attempting to accomplish this very feat is ARCHDRUID, who have managed to create an entire album’s worth of material and have fashioned it in to one fifty-three minute opus which has been split in to two parts – IV.
IV opens with some echoed, half time drum work and clean bass riffs, drenched in various effects. The dirty bass tone from Dominic Coulon quickly takes centre stage with a distorted effect that sounds like it has come straight out of the Trent Reznor playbook. The wandering bass lines during the eighth minute of the track sound like a mixture of jazz and a Geezer Butler bass solo which can never be a bad thing for a doom metal band.
At the midpoint of the first track the brakes get slammed on and proceedings drop to a glacial pace, this is an interesting choice for the pair to make as it becomes even more apparent that there is a distinct lack of texture with no guitar presence at all and it sounds like this would have been a perfect backing section to have a bluesy guitar solo wailing over. The drum beat from Callum Whiting is relatively simple, but when you have the bass guitar trailing off on a tangent it is important for the drummer to keep a steady rhythm rather than following suit and throwing the whole track in to disarray. The intensity picks up in the latter stages of the track and with the bass guitar thundering over the top of the hammering beat from Whiting as he takes the skins on his drum heads to the very limit with his pulverising hits. It just goes to show that the dynamic of a song can shift dramatically merely switching up the ferocity of the playing and doesn’t always have to rely on outside influences such as effects pedals to throw in complete left turn.
The second half of the album continues in the same way that the first ended. The energy is high and the tone is dense and dirty with subtle fuzz/distortion being used effectively to add to the heaviness. At around four minutes in to the song we see proceedings grind to a halt once again with the use of long drawn out, bent notes. This is a decent way of showing off the bass guitar sound that Coulon has worked so hard to shape with his use of pedals and amp settings. The flip side of this however, is that it becomes even more apparent in these sections that there is something missing. There are plenty of points in these virtually empty spaces of tape that would be much more effective if there was another layer to the sound i.e. a guitar, vocal line or any other form of melody and when this is coupled in with the amount of repetition through these sections it makes for a dull listen in places.
Fortunately the drum work and upbeat rhythm section that comes in at around the nine minute mark changes the musical direction enough to revitalise the experience for the listener. The inclusion of the natural feedback and imperfections that are heard shortly after are a fantastic addition to the overall sound. The rawness and DIY attitude that seeks through creates an almost punk feel that gives a whole new level of humility to music that is incredibly refreshing at this stage. The closing few minutes of the track show Coulon wandering off on the fretboard of his bass on another tangent and proving that he has a way of writing genuinely addictive grooves that interplay with his musical partner incredibly well. Credit must be given to the two musicians for the way that they have come up with this tremendous idea. The task of creating a whole albums worth of music and committing it to tape in two hefty instalments is no small feat all and they must be commended for undertaking the challenge.
Perhaps the most impressive fact about IV is that it was recorded in a single take. The way that it sounds as though the duo have simply flicked on the record button in the rehearsal studio gives an organic feel of the release and helps the listener to immerse themselves truly in the music. However this approach also appears to hinder the album with it coming across in places like the bassist and the drummer have shown up early for band practice and are recording their doodling/warm up as they wait for the rest of the members to show up.
IV is an incredibly brave and impressive undertaking by ARCHDRUID but it feels unfinished. The music repeats itself a little too much and explores too little to make the album feel more exciting. There is indeed an art to creating long tracks and there are certain pitfalls to creating them as well, one of which is that you can all to easily lose the attention of the audience with a lack of excitement and experimentation and unfortunately this is the case here. A great foundation, with some great ideas. But this is a far cry from the finished product that ARCHDRUID could be.
Rating: 6/10
IV is out now via self-release.
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