Without God – Lambs to the Slaughter

Every now and then a band comes along that is not doing anything really original but are so good at composing, that they sound fresh anyway. Such is the case with Russia’s Without God. There is something new happening in the Russian doom scene and that is traditional doom is exploding finally. No longer is Russia just a haven for goth-doom and funeral doom acts, classic traditional doom metal is making waves and Without God are one of the bands leading the charge. Without God are an interesting band – influenced by Saint Vitus, Electric Wizard, Black Sabbath and other doom greats but they sound fresh enough to stand out as not just another clone. The main bonus with this band is in the song-writing, these songs are infectious and memorable right to the last note. They also have a wonderful warm and fuzzy sound that is drenched in hypnotic atmosphere, the likes of which haven’t been heard much since Electric Wizard dropped the ‘Dopethrone’ album.



Read the full review after the jump!

It is all about the songs though with these Russian doomsters, the entire album is full of smokey, THC-laced tunes that are packed to the brim with grooves and a surprising amount of energy. You don’t normally associate energy with doom-metal music but Without God deliver a lively performance throughout ‘Lambs to the Slaughter.’ The album is not perfect but there isn’t one track on this that sounds like filler as even the less inspired tunes still contain enough of the goods to keep everybody happy. The album begins with ‘They Rot’ which is about as concise and exciting as doom-metal gets these days. It sets the tone for most of the recording with crunchy guitar, unexpected chord progressions and hyper-active drumming. Sometimes they do ventured in other directions as in the 12 minute ‘Crossroads/Eat the Shit’ which pushes into psychedelic realms. This track is different being a long instrumental with extended meandering guitar sections and a more gentle drumming approach. Being 12 minutes long and neatly placed in the middle of the album it is the centerpiece of the release but before and after this track, you are treated to some glorious stoner, doom-metal that is classy without being pompous and raw without being too abrasive.

They keep it interesting via songs that shift from the very heavy and slothful to lighter, atmospheric sections that are seamlessly strung together. There is plenty of dynamics in the playing and the vocals which are refreshingly different from the norm in doom-metal. The vocals are deep and guttural at times but also unleashed a soothing melodic touch when needed and Without God always seem to know when and where to insert these variants. The guitar work also is multi-dimensional – raw, aggressive sometimes but almost kind of sexy and laid back during some of the quieter bits. There always seems to be something mesmerizing happening on this CD, whether it be something heavy and crushing or something immensely sleazy and psychedelic. Even the atmosphere changes, it is not all dark, doom and gloom but it is constantly hypnotic. The opening track, ‘They Rot’, ‘Space Weed’ and the already mentioned ‘Crossroads/Eat the Shit’ are all major highlights but there is no weak tracks to be found. Even the closing track  ‘Faithless’ keeps you guessing as to where the band will go next as the album is full of twists and turns that are unexpected.

‘Lambs to the Slaughter’ is more than just a convincing stoner-doom album, it is a quality dose of great song-writing within the realms of classic heavy-rock. It is infectious from start to finish and has more than a dozen or so riffs that knock you to the floor. The quality of song-writing is well above-average and no offense to all the other Russian bands but this album should be your benchmark especially if the stoner-doom genre is your chosen style. Without God are not that original, nor are they the best musicians but they are incredibly inventive composers and that is what will get you hooked with the ‘Lambs to the Slaughter’ album. Out on RAIG Records and it is in the Doommantia Webstore too…9/10
Without God @ Myspace