Sunday 14 December 2014

Tower and Stone - S/T (EP Review)

Tower and Stone cover art

Album Type: EP
Date Released: 11th December 2014
Label: Self Released

Tower and Stone – S/T – Track Listing

1.Mullah 13:12
2.Naajd 06:47
3.Bedouin 09:35

Review:

I can't find much info about Tower and Stone. I don't know if they are a band or a one-man style band. Though I can tell you their debut EP is a bleak journey into the realm of Sludge, Post-Metal, Ambient Noise, Black Metal with an added menace of psychedelic experimentation to thrill you with.

The album is very experimental in nature and delivery as it's bleak from the start. It won't appeal to everyone but you if you're in the mood for something different and very sinister then Tower and Stone maybe the band for you. Shades of Neurosis, Thou, Author and Punisher and Wolves In The Throne Room can be heard on opening track – Mullah. It's a thought-provoking exercise in noise, sounds and textures as it's a very slow-paced affair with the doomy experimental vibe offering little hopes of escape. The vocals when they do appear are brutal from the start. You can feel the torture and pain with each passing second.

2nd track – Naajd – is a more ambient based track with noises and synthesiser sounds playing against a glitchy drone based background. With creepy soundbytes and distorted vocals combining for one weird, trippy as hell bleak acid trip.

The last track – Bedouin – combines the first two tracks for the EP's most powerful and disturbing vision of noise and experimentation. It's a brutal and sometimes crazed ride into the darkness. It's more of a post-black metal affair with elements of psych sludge appearing later on. The EP's production is very raw at times but it gives the whole atmosphere a very unsettling feel and I suppose that is the whole point of Tower and Stone. To take you to places you don't like to visit very often. 

A disturbing release from a great band. Check it out as it's available on Bandcamp Buy Now Download.

Words by Steve Howe

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