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Sleestak - Aeon review




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Reviewer:
8.2

22 users:
7.32
Band: Sleestak
Album: Aeon
Release date: July 2020


01. Infinite Eternal
02. The Void
03. Black Iron Prison / Submerged
04. Distant Lights
05. Keepers Of The Illusion
06. Out Of Body
07. Omelas
08. STCFTHOTS [Pink Floyd cover]
09. The Summer Lands - Basement Jam [bonus]
10. Staking A Claim Upon The Open Fields Of Shadow - Basement Jam [bonus]

The drive from Phoenix to Tucson is a boring one. 100+ miles with one scenic peak around the halfway point. And lots of boring. Facing this drive back to my old stomping grounds, I was lucky enough to be sent a pre-release copy of Sleestak's latest, AEON.

Facing 100+ miles and 80 or so minutes, there was but one thing to do in my rental car. Crank the stereo (and the A/C) and set the controls for the missing pylon.

It's been almost a decade since the reptilian doomsters released their last full length, The Fall Of Altrusia, which I described thus:

Quote:
"The band is still anchored in Stoner Doom, but in much the same way Halley's Comet is anchored by the Sun. Powerful doom riffs and shouted vocals make a stirring appearance before the band takes off for a long space voyage. For those slow with metaphor translation? this album is like 35% stoner doom and 65% tripping balls and floating through the cosmos."


AEON sees the band furthering this trend with a much, much wider orbit. Like two short flights zipping over Metalstan's airspace before resuming their path off past the Oort Cloud, blowing past V'ger en route.

You can see why this made a great soundtrack for a long, boring drive. Kept me wistfully blissfully floating along as the miles passed.

So what does it sound like? I guess the easiest descriptor for the album would be their choice in a closer - a cover of Pink Floyd's "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun". Go in to the album expecting something along these lines and you'll have a good trip.

If you want to get your metal on, "Black Iron Prison/Submerged" and "Keepers Of The Illusion" are tracks for you. Schmitz's familiar growlyhowl atop trudging doomsludge riffs you might recall from spots of Fall Of Altrusia or Skylon Express.

Additionally, sprinkled in throughout the album are some of the other Sleestakisms such as the foreboding single-note, clean reverb echoey notes. That particular innocuous yet ominous sonic trick is a welcome return.

While I do have a few fave tracks - "The Void", "Black Iron Prison/Submerged" and "Keepers Of The Illusion" which encapsulates the album succinctly, would both be good starter points (though "BIP/S" takes some time before the stomping of the distortion pedal) to see what's going on, the album is best taken as a whole, as needed, for numbing.

And sentimental schmaltz to close this out - way back a decade ago Marcel sent his first "Awesome Package of Doom", a box stuffed full of dome/stoner t's and cds, including Faal, Profetus and a copy of Skylon Express. Been a huge fan since. If you find yourself grooving on this remotely as much as I am, be sure to pour a little of yer fave firewater out for the big man. I get the assist, but he deserves the credit for the goal, as it were.

Set the controls for bandcamp


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 8
Originality: 7
Production: 9





Written on 07.07.2020 by BitterCOld has been officially reviewing albums for MetalStorm since 2009.


Comments

Comments: 6   Visited by: 89 users
07.07.2020 - 09:28
nikarg

9 times out of 10 stoner bores the hell out of me but I like Sleestak because it is "35% stoner doom and 65% tripping balls and floating through the cosmos". I enjoy this album a lot and the review, the last paragraph in particular.

"Black Iron Prison / Submerged" is so good.
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07.07.2020 - 10:18
Rating: 7
Cynic Metalhead
Paisa Vich Nasha
Wait, it if get past the Oort Cloud - did it strike one of our Voyagers?

As for the record, I'll be spinning tonite, boy. I'm really fucking hungry right now.
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07.07.2020 - 11:50
Rating: 8
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
This was so much better than I imagined it to be
----
Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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07.07.2020 - 13:53
Rating: 8
musclassia

I've given it a couple of listens so far - I like it, but not close to The Fall Of Altrusia so far. My favourite song on the first couple of listens has actually been the Pink Floyd cover
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07.07.2020 - 20:33
Rating: 8
BitterCOld
The Ancient One
Written by musclassia on 07.07.2020 at 13:53

I've given it a couple of listens so far - I like it, but not close to The Fall Of Altrusia so far. My favourite song on the first couple of listens has actually been the Pink Floyd cover


Fall of Altrusia is still my favorite as well. I scored it 8.3 in the day, but over time in the album ratings I've nudged up to 9.

As for Set The Controls,i didn't want to focus too much on that over their own material, but it is my favorite Floyd tune and I really enjoyed the cover. Great way to close the album out.
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get the fuck off my lawn.

Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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10.07.2020 - 17:50
tea[m]ster
Au Pays Natal
Knew it was you. Listening this weekend. Excellent review and thanks.
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rekt
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