Picture glowing embers and the charred remnants of razed buildings. Raging fires and smoke-filled skies. Ash drifting in the hot winds like some sort of contemptible snow. Complete and utter desolation. Slow-motion hopelessness in a black sand desert. Picture this and you’ll have pictured something strikingly similar to Santa Fe’s doom metal/drone masters Drought. Their self-titled four-track album might as well be the soundtrack to the apocalypse; offering a guided tour to our horrific ultimate demise.
Drought formed in 2008 and features current members Luke Sheppard (drums), Hoagie (guitars/vocals) and — since 2010 — Bones (bass). The band plays mostly instrumental tunes, successfully conjuring images of vast, uninhabitable landscapes and the feelings of loneliness and despair that would no doubt accompany such places. Feelings of certain, inevitable doom. Epic mid-tempo dirges with soaring guitar passages give way to churning blast-beats now and again, keeping things interesting. The songs, ‘Nightwalker,’ ‘Penitente,’ ‘Peyote Priestress,’ and ‘Canyons,’ range from 8 to 19 minutes but never fall prey to stagnancy. Drought infuse each track with an energy and potency that belies the slow tempo that typically defines the doom genre. Sheppard’s drumming is massive, intricate, and spot-on. Hoagie’s guitar work is crushing, atmospheric, and, at times, quite beautiful. Bones’ bass tone is clear, the lines are supportive, and it sits nicely in the mix. All in all, the record is brutal, thought-provoking, and extremely cohesive. Why this band is unsigned is beyond me; a situation that should be rectified immediately.
Picture the sun scorching the Earth. Life receding into a cold bleakness. A slow-motion ash burial. The end of days. Picture this and you’ll have pictured that which is Drought.
JH Statts
Jack
April 19, 2013 at 1:40 pm
Stoked to see some 505 locals getting representation, these guys deserve it. Drought always kills it!