Lesbian - Stratospheria Cubensis
Every once in a while along comes an album that almost can't be reviewed because some albums project a vibe that is going to be completely different to whoever listens to it making individual thoughts or opinions irrelevant and unique only to the person doing the reviewing. Such is the case with Lesbian's "Stratospheria Cubensis", this is a recording so complex and multi-layered it is really difficult to understand what they are trying to do. This band from Seattle, Washington has always been an interesting band that has always gone against the grain when to comes to Stoner Metal, Doom Metal, Sludge and Progressive Rock. Lesbian are all these genres rolled into one but "Stratospheria Cubensis" is certainly more proggy than anything they have done before. The album "Power Hor" released in 2007 displayed a knack for slowly building momentum and atmosphere in their songs but also a gifted musical strength of intricate ideas that leave you mesmerized and they have showed that especially during live performances. "Stratospheria Cubensis" however they might have out-done themselves in some respects, it might be too intricate and overblown for the average listener. At first I found myself lost for words with this album, how in the hell can you describe this music ?
This album was produced and mixed by Randall Dunn who has worked with Sunn O))) and Earth and the first thing to grab you by the throat is the sound of the disc, it is huge, sonically bombastic tidal-waves of sounds. The next striking element is the vocals, there has been major improvements there over earlier recordings. Again just like recordings from their past, the songs are long, 5 tracks stretching 71 minutes so it is a challenging listening experience. The album starts with the most conventional track on the album, "Poisonous Witchball" which is the shortest most direct tune but it still carries on for over 8 minutes. Layered vocals and a pulverizing riff that pauses briefly now and then only to come back at you heavier than it was before. It is the most traditional in the "doom metal" sense and it is not far removed from bands like Sleep but after this track the album goes through some very dramatic and diverse changes. The band slow down and the songs become more progressive, psychedelic and hypnotically complex. Some of this wouldn't sound out-of-place on a 70's prog rock album as large sections of music float in different directions from uplifting melodies one minute to passages of dark blackened fury the next. Vocalist Dorando Hodous makes the most out of these blackened sections with his hellish throaty and very angry growl. However too often I found myself a little bored but I will focus on the good and there is plenty of captivating moments.
The first one comes a few minutes into "Raging Arcania" when the sound becomes wide-opened and spacey and then becomes very thick and dense, great atmospheric sound to this track but it takes a while to get going in the right direction for me. "Stropharia Cubensis" has a great brooding atmosphere and gets very grandiose with a twisting, turning riff 11 minutes into its complicated journey. The best track overall though is the last tune, "Black Stygian" that goes from early 90's Stoner Metal to Funk to Death Metal To Progressive Rock to Grunge all within the one monster track. The bad news however is while "Black Stygian" stands out as the best tune here, it is also lacking anything holding it together and the album suffers the same fate all the way through. The album is like a schizophrenic musical attack with ideas being thrown together at random, there is no questioning their musical ability as most of this is jaw-dropping musicianship but the songs don't flow too well for me, it seems clunky and clumsy at times. The album does include many elements that could have easily turned this into a masterpiece but when the band moves from Sludge to Prog, it doesn't seem to fit. I might be missing something here however and I am sure some folks will hear this and be floored by its musical scope. Don't take my words too seriously here, I urge you to hear it for yourself and make up your own mind
This album was produced and mixed by Randall Dunn who has worked with Sunn O))) and Earth and the first thing to grab you by the throat is the sound of the disc, it is huge, sonically bombastic tidal-waves of sounds. The next striking element is the vocals, there has been major improvements there over earlier recordings. Again just like recordings from their past, the songs are long, 5 tracks stretching 71 minutes so it is a challenging listening experience. The album starts with the most conventional track on the album, "Poisonous Witchball" which is the shortest most direct tune but it still carries on for over 8 minutes. Layered vocals and a pulverizing riff that pauses briefly now and then only to come back at you heavier than it was before. It is the most traditional in the "doom metal" sense and it is not far removed from bands like Sleep but after this track the album goes through some very dramatic and diverse changes. The band slow down and the songs become more progressive, psychedelic and hypnotically complex. Some of this wouldn't sound out-of-place on a 70's prog rock album as large sections of music float in different directions from uplifting melodies one minute to passages of dark blackened fury the next. Vocalist Dorando Hodous makes the most out of these blackened sections with his hellish throaty and very angry growl. However too often I found myself a little bored but I will focus on the good and there is plenty of captivating moments.
The first one comes a few minutes into "Raging Arcania" when the sound becomes wide-opened and spacey and then becomes very thick and dense, great atmospheric sound to this track but it takes a while to get going in the right direction for me. "Stropharia Cubensis" has a great brooding atmosphere and gets very grandiose with a twisting, turning riff 11 minutes into its complicated journey. The best track overall though is the last tune, "Black Stygian" that goes from early 90's Stoner Metal to Funk to Death Metal To Progressive Rock to Grunge all within the one monster track. The bad news however is while "Black Stygian" stands out as the best tune here, it is also lacking anything holding it together and the album suffers the same fate all the way through. The album is like a schizophrenic musical attack with ideas being thrown together at random, there is no questioning their musical ability as most of this is jaw-dropping musicianship but the songs don't flow too well for me, it seems clunky and clumsy at times. The album does include many elements that could have easily turned this into a masterpiece but when the band moves from Sludge to Prog, it doesn't seem to fit. I might be missing something here however and I am sure some folks will hear this and be floored by its musical scope. Don't take my words too seriously here, I urge you to hear it for yourself and make up your own mind
1. Poisonous Witchball
2. Poverty And War Forever
3. Raging Arcania
4. Stratospheria Cubensis
5. Black Stygian
Self released
Reviewer: Ed
Nov 3, 2010
Nov 3, 2010
Next review:
Tenebrae In Perpetuum / Krohm - Split
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