The Graviators-Motherload

Napalm Records
2014


Sweden's The Graviators, who first formed back in 2009 before releasing their first self-titled full-length release the same year, are another (newish) act that chooses to stretch the boundaries of modern day doom.On their upcoming new album "Motherload", which is the group's forth overall full-length album and first in two years (the last one being 2012's "Evil Deeds"), the band takes up the challenge of giving doom metal a proper once-over and, thanks to the addition of stoner rock and classic rock/seventies hard rock, they do a pretty fly job at it one must say! Fronted by one Niklas Sjöberg(also of Swedish stoner metal outfit NYMF) the band could best be described as a loose and easy Black Sabbath/Trouble hybrid attempting to spread their magical wings and fly away!  Aside from the questionable lyrical-content (more occult and witchcraft silliness) this band does it right with Martin Fairbanks (also of NYMF and ex-Clandestine) providing post-Tony Iommi leads and a HEAVY rhythm section of Johan Holm (bass) and Henrik Bergman (drums, formerly of High in Fungoid Void) drawing to mind not only Black Sabbath's famous bass & drum duo, but also the back-beat of the band Iron Man! Alongside great new material like "Leifs Last Breath / Dance of the Valkyrie", "Narrow Minded Bastards" and "Tigress of Siberia" (and that's just the opening part of this full-length release!) the band opted to include a special bonus in the form of of a re-recorded "Druid´s Ritual"! Originally released on the group's 2011 limited-edition split with Brutus it's a great way to close out album number four from this doom metal collective!  The Graviators have done well with "Motherload". Whether we're talking about HEAVY doom rockers like "Bed Of Bitches" and "Corpauthority", twisted and evil epic numbers like the 9 minute long "Eagles Rising" (dig the vox on this one!) or a track like "Lost Lord" (where the band inhales everything that early seventies psychedelic rock had to offer!) this is one album that should be on the radar of every doom metal and stoner rock fanatic! As the first The Graviators release that I've heard start to finish I must say that I was more then impressed! Another addition to my best of 2014 list, "Motherload" is already rocking my world and I will most certainly be looking to add a CD copy of this little gem to my personal collection as soon as it is released at the end of this month!