Over in Jönköping/Kalmar, Sweden, 3 peice doom/sludge band SNAILKING lay waste to pleasantry and positivity with their unique sound of sludge. Hints and edges of melody trickle through bleak muddy grit. A soundtrack fit for a tale of apocalyptic destruction, doom and wasteland worlds. Before I picked up this album I knew nothing of SNAILKING, they didnt exist. They have made their presence known and have resonated through my body, tarnishing my soul and removing all feelings of happiness and replaced it with melancholy and despair.

An ambient opening track, howling winds and an unsettling slow trudge of drums and guitars echoing through my mind. A harrowing sound ripped through my ears as the gathering Storm picked began to grind and tear away at my soul. As this monstrosity of a song dropped it unleashed what i can only describe as all 9 circles of hell released in a single focused blast into my ears. As if my entire world was ripped from me. Heavy muddy guitars and driving bass power this bleak orchestra of doom and relentless surges of doom. Definitely something you can listen to and feel fucking epic the whole time. Being an 11 minute song, theres no shortage of time to feel epic!

The vocals are sung in an almost perfect harmony with a gritty, raw and hate filled sound. Like frontman Pontus Ottosson is completely emotionless towards the world, only hate fills his soul. For me this was one of the biggest factors of the album that seriously impressed me. The structure of each song as well, the album is so proggy its great, there are large sections of epic head crushing chest-sploding doom and then frankly beautiful sections of slow, melodic and thought provoking build ups. You cant help but become immersed in every minute of the song! The drums compliment every little riff and build up and drop in with the guitars in perfect timing filling out the sound and making it so much heavier!

The album has taken the title of one of the best albums of 2014 for me, being their debut full length album this is impressive and I have high hopes for the band releasing more and I can only see them improving. I look forward to hearing more from them and I would hope that they get over to the UK soon. I can see them fitting in nicely at Bloodstock!

9/10

‘Storm’ by Snailking is out now via Consouling Sounds.