Yog-Sothoth - Hypnotic Crushery [Altar Of Waste - 2012]Yog-Sothoth are a three piece Minneapolis Lovecraft influenced doom outfit, who count Cory Strand(runner of the excellent Altar Of Waste label, the man behind HNW/Drone project Lethe, and many other projects) in their number. So as a result I had high hopes for this after enjoy pretty much every thing else I’ve heard him do. “Hypnotic Crushery” is the bands first album( apparently they’ve done three full lengths in all)- it originally appeared on Yith Recordings in 2005, this is an ltd reissue. Line-up wise Strand plays guitar, bass and drums, and he is joined by Ben Zientara on guitars, bass & theremin, with Adam Lazlo adding some additional guitar. Sound wise I guess you’d say this it’s a mixture of mid to sometimes up-paced doom, a few more sludgy moments, garage bound psychedelic rock nooderling, and a touches of metal tinged indie rock. The CDR offers up six tracks in all, and these last between just over the eight minute mark to just shy of the fourteen & a half minute mark. And these go from the opener “A Man Needs a firm Handshake” which sounded like a instrumental out-take from the early Sabbath influenced Smashing Pumpkins. To the slightly eastern tinged mid- paced riffing of “Umber-Hulf Gangbamg” with its fairly effective snake charmer like lead guitar texturing. To the indie/ grunge / doom gallop of “Mountain Moves”. Onto more rolling, lo-fi doom pound & swirling tentacle like lead guitar work & Theremin lashings of “The Fiercer”- which is one of the more promising moments here. Sadly I found much of the album underwhelming, predictable, and often not very Lovecraft like in it’s vibe. The tracks mostly sound too familiar- been a mishmash of influences instead of standing on their own. The pacing often seems too plodding( in a bad way), and lastly the tracks often sound too buoyant & positive for their subject matter. I really tried to like this, as I’ve enjoyed Strand’s other work a lot; but ultimately this sounds too much like a band at demo stage, with not enough focus on their own sound identity & too little composition flair present. I’d certainly give Yog-Sothoth another chance down the line, as there is some promise here in tracks such as “Umber-Hulf Gangbamg” & “The Fiercer. Roger Batty
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