Sheavy - Republic?

I make no secrets about my love for early Black Sabbath so I also tend to like a lot of bands that are influenced by them as well. This album came out back in September and I actually heard it two months ago, but just now got around to writing about it. This is the fifth album from Canada's Sheavy who have been around for over a decade. They are on England's Rise Above records which normally means stoner or doom metal like Electric Wizard and Orange Goblin. While they are not totally removed from either of those genres, Sheavy are different from most bands that receive those labels. The first thing you'd have to notice upon hearing this is how Steve Hennessey sounds a lot like Ozzy say around 72-75. Black Sabbath are probably the most influential metal band of all time, but normally it's the music not the vocals that makes a band sound like Sabbath. Sheavy do have a little bit of a Sabbath sound sprinkled here and there, but not as much as a lot of other bands. Most of their songs get close to a mid-tempo range, but maintain some heaviness. A lot of bands that emulate Sabbath tend to have a 70's kind of fuzz sound to the guitar, but these guys have a very clear, sharp sound that reminds me more of say early to mid 90's bands like Soundgarden. Most of the songs are simple and to the point, but I find myself drawn in by how straightforward they are and that's why I have listened to it quite a bit since I bought it. Along with Fireball Ministry these guys are a little more like stoner lite, but very catchy. They don't break a lot of new ground, but they are confident in what they are doing and fairly memorable. They have recently released a live dvd as well, but I have yet to see it. They also don't seem to update their website very often which is a shame.