ALBUM REVIEW: Sonic Moons – Domkraft
Hailed as the “Venice Of The North”, Stockholm is the beating cultural capital of Sweden, with a picturesque cityscape sprawling across the 14 islands where Lake Mälaren flows through into the Baltic Sea. It has also been the base of operations for many of the country’s metal bands, as well as having a rich pedigree in doom metal with the likes of CANDLEMASS and KATATONIA heading the scene. Coming up behind them with a trippy, fuzzy, groove-laden, sludgy psych sound is DOMKRAFT.
Since 2016, the trio of Martin Wegeland (vocals, bass), Martin Widholm (guitar) and Anders Dahlgren (drums) have been tearing up the rulebook with their vibrant, slightly chaotic and vivid brand of sludgy psychedelic metal. The band’s fourth album, Sonic Moons, is an exploration into various realms of the psychedelic galactic psyche and the variance of metaphysical realities. Despite mostly staying true to their musical direction, the Stockholm trio’s songwriting has audibly matured, creating sharper and tighter sounding songs that emphasise the band’s untameable power.
With hypnotic minimalism and mind-bending psychedelia Sonic Moons is a brain-melting journey through the emotionally-charged inner recesses of the mind whilst simultaneously being a frenzied exploration of new galaxies where the celestial bodies shine brightly, emitting music unlike anything we’ve ever heard before. It is a spectacularly rich and nuanced album that can only thrust DOMKRAFT’s renown into the upper echelons of the psychedelic scene as a whole.
The striking thing about Sonic Moons is that it eclipses its predecessor, 2021’s Seeds, with comparative ease. DOMKRAFT have not only upped the ante, they upped their whole game. Moving away from the slower, sludgier rumbles of their previous album, Sonic Moons sees DOMKRAFT speed things up and inject more chaotic dynamic shifts into their songs. With a raw edge resembling that of a jagged toothed circular saw blade, the Stockholm trio are pulling no punches on this record.
Wegeland’s driving basslines alongside the thunderous power of Dahlgren’s drums feel like a cannonade on your ear drums, whilst the searing leads of Widholm’s guitar slice through your skull effortlessly. This head-splitting power conjures up images of falling through layers of alternate universes as you explore the outer reaches of your consciousness. As things rush past you, time feels slow as you’re completely engulfed in this hazy, hypnotic world of spinning celestial bodies and glistening stars.
The album feels wild, free and unhindered in its expression. There’s an air of complete release and that Sonic Moons is the most honest representation of DOMKRAFT to date. From the very first bar of Whispers, it feels like the album is continuously building. The mounting tension is exciting and the anticipation of the pay-off keeps on the edge of your seat. This comes with the megalithic closing track The Big Chill, where all the tension is released in a frenzy of sludgy psychedelia. DOMKRAFT sound stronger than ever before, and Sonic Moons could be argued as a potential spawn point from which a new Swedish juggernaut can emerge.
Opening the album with the aforementioned Whispers, this is one of two nine-minute Goliaths that bookend Sonic Moons (the other being The Big Chill). It’s a song that lulls you into a false sense of security as DOMKRAFT take the somewhat calmer more psychedelic route to start the album. Going into Stellar Winds that quickly changes and you get your first slap round the chops with the band’s fast-paced, heavily distorted, frantic riffs as the tension starts to build. Magnetism continues this trend. With a deep, earthy bass groove and Phrygian sounding riff the hypnotic nature of the album becomes stronger, and through the swirling riffs and drums Wegeland’s vocals soar over the top.
Slowburner does what it says on the tin. It maintains the tension but slowly winds it up tighter as the song progresses. With a robust chugging riff driving the song forward and a huge chorus, it’s one of the catchier songs on the album. Downpour hammers down the flange-soaked riffs with a churning chaos that resembles a tempestuous ocean, whilst Black Moon Rising begins to conclude this ever-building tension that has transcended the album from the very beginning. It is an incredibly tense song that demonstrates DOMKRAFT’s penchant for swirling psychedelia coupled with a sense of impending doom. The Big Chill is a thrilling climax to a wonderfully chaotic and powerful album, releasing all the built up tension in one devastating blow. You’re left gasping for air by the time this one is finished.
DOMKRAFT’s fourth album sees the Swedish trio reach a new pinnacle and showcases them at their strongest yet. Raw, powerful, frantic and uncompromising, Sonic Moons has everything you could need in a psychedelic sludge album, definitely one you don’t want to miss out on.
Rating: 9/10
Sonic Moons is set for release on September 8th via Magnetic Eye Records.
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