Band:	Earth Ship
Album:	Soar
Style:	Sludge metal
Release date:	August 2024
A review by:	F3ynman

01. Shallow
02. Soar
03. Ghost Town
04. Radiant
05. Ethereal Limbo
06. Acrid Haze
07. Bereft
08. Daze And Delights

A stoner/sludge combo for the summer.

Living in the Northern Hemisphere in August, suffering under the summer heat, I often find myself struggling with the choice of an appropriate metal soundtrack. The bleak atmosphere of black metal doesn't have the same impact if you're sweating instead of freezing. Headbanging to thrash or death metal can be quite exhausting and uncomfortable when you're drenched in humidity already. And power metal… well, I don't listen to power metal, no matter the weather.

Anyway, the one genre that I've always found to fit the summertime the best is stoner metal. The fuzzy, patient rumbling of rhythmic, distorted guitar-work has always served as a welcome backdrop for lazy relaxation. But, if you find yourself getting bored of the slow droning, you can always add a bit of fist-smashing toughness by blending stoner with its cousin in the doom family: sludge metal. As a result, you get a satisfying combination of both relaxing groove and just enough energy to scratch that extreme metal itch. Bands like Mastodon and High On Fire have had a lot of success with this stoner/sludge combo, although their exact styles also differ quite a bit.

Another example of this approach (without being a direct copy of either of the aforementioned bands) is Earth Ship. They're a German band masterminded by Jan Oberg, who you may know from performances with The Ocean, Grin, and Daevar. In fact, Earth Ship is basically Grin with an extra drummer. Both projects feature the duo of Jan Oberg (vocals, guitar, mixing, and mastering) and Sabine Oberg (bass guitar). Since 2016, Earth Ship also includes drummer Sebastian Grimberg.

So, Earth Ship has basically the same musicians as Grin, but do they sound like Grin, too? Taking a look at Grin’s newest album Hush, we see that they focus on crafting a dense and highly psychedelic atmosphere, peppered with a ghostly interplay of clean vocals and rasps. In contrast, Earth Ship’s Soar demonstrates a more rugged, straightforward approach of clear production with intense shouts and growls to accompany the groovy guitar riffs.

While Grin take great care in submerging their listeners in a tranquil, viscous sonicscape, Earth Ship show their heavy sludge influences, shoving their audience into the glaring desert heat, shouting with a mix of rage and desperation, and unleashing a slow but menacing rhythm like on the title track “Soar”. But, just because they present a more forceful performance overall, doesn't mean it's a full-on sludge-fest. There's still plenty of chill, meandering melody in typical stoner rock fashion, as the instrumental track “Radiant” nicely demonstrates. There are even songs that mix the Grin and Earth Ship styles. For instance, “Ethereal Limbo” showcases alternating parts of catchy yet patient melody with clean, echoing vocals and mean riffage complementing strained yells.

In the end, Earth Ship’s Soar is an enjoyable balance of groovy stoner and hard-hitting sludge metal, offering listeners opportunities to both bob their head to catchy rhythms and drift along to patient, warm fuzz.