Sweat Lodge
Talismana
Ripple Music
Release Date: Out Now
Matthew Clewley
Over the past year or so I have been introduced to new bands taking on the Black Sabbath slow yet powerful riffs into something quite unique. Sweat Lodge are one of those bands that cropping up out of the darkness and grab you by the neck of your shirt and slap you in the face repeatedly to give you a message that rock n roll isn’t dead. They join the batch of bands like The Vintage Caravan and Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats who are giving the early sounds of heavy metal a rebirth. Sweat Lodge feature Caleb Brown on drums, Cody Lee on vocals, Austin Shockley on bass and Javier Gardea and Dustin Anderson on guitar. Will this be the line up that could grab the attention of metal fans?
Tramplifier opens up the album with a beautifully distorted bass line that quickly gains pace, reeking of Black Sabbath, but does enough to make it their own sound. There’s a great psychedelic vibe coming from Sweat Lodge, an album that would do wonders for stoners. Slow Burn, a song that is off their original self-titled EP, appears on this and is a great brief song that perfectly balances their early metal and psychedelic influences. Phoenix Ascent is a firm favourite of mine as everything is great about this song that fades out nicely with the guitar solo.
The album brings out influences of more early bands like AC/DC, which is clear to here on Black Horizon. The bass fuzz is one of my favourite things on this album. It balances nice with the guitar playing and the drum beat rather than it working the inner depth of sound for a typical band rhythm section. Songs Boogie Bride is the longest song at nearly 5 and a half minutes long, with early prig influences pointing at Rush and Yes as well as keeping that awesome clean vocal that reeks of Sabbath and Blue Cheer.
Sweat Lodge have successively joined those worthy of giving early metal bands a proper tribute that isn’t just relying on covers. They are their own band. The balance of influence and reality is superbly executed on Talismana. It’s heavy, catchy and it’s an incredible listen for those who love nostalgia as well as something to listen and chill to. Talismana is worthy of a purchase, especially if you’re bored of seeing bands from pop punk and post hardcore cropping up everywhere you see in the heavy music scene.
