Wednesday 25 March 2020

EP Review: DOOMSDAY SUN - Cult Of Stasis

Doomsday Sun - Cult Of Stasis


01A. UKBC Radio Broadcast
01. Clean The Bones
02A. Stantech Advert
02 Cult Of Stasis
03A. Log 25-08-2119 #1
03. Husk Of The Augur
04A. Log 25-08-2119 #2
04. Bring Forth The Plague
05A. J Stantham Tape 
05. He Who Fights Monsters
06. Log 25-08-2119 #3


Doomsday Sun is a Sludge Metal band from Uttoxeter, and Cult Of Stasis is their second EP. It's an ambitious affair, being a concept piece about a story involving time travel and civil war. In their words:

"Cult of Stasis is the second EP by Doomsday Sun; a five-track offering that tells the story of Dr. Jeremy Stantham, an innovative medical scientist. Despairing at his country being torn apart by civil war, Dr. Stantham invents the time capsule; a device that preserves him in a nostalgia-fuelled stasis, but still has to deal with the consequences that a twenty-year slumber can result in"

OK, so before I delve into this opus, I have a small criticism straight off the bat. Most concept albums tell a story through the songs. Sometimes there is some spoken word dialogue which fills in the gaps and effectively glues the chapters together. Doomsday Sun have spoken word interludes between every track, and a couple of them are over a minute long. If you're listening to this EP from start-to-finish as concept records are supposed to be heard, it is quite off-puting and kills the flow. If there was one at the start, one after three songs and one at the end, it may have worked, but as it is, these interludes are too much and serve as an annoyance to skip past.

However, the actual songs are pretty good. I reckon they're quite heavily influenced by bands like Mastodon, Gojira and Neurosis, but they've ended up sounding a bit more like Fourwaykill, especially on the faster tracks like Husk Of The Augur. Incidentally, that's probably my favourite song on here, along with the title track, which has a huge filthy riff that would make Pepper Keenan proud.

Bring Forth The Plague is an accomplished Metal track that is more in the vein of Lamb Of God than the other tracks. It's as crushing as it is technically proficient.

Overall, Cult Of Stasis is a solid release. It has more diversity that your average Sludge Metal release, and enough attack to appeal to a more mainstream Metal audience. Despite my earlier criticism of the spoken tracks, I do think it's cool that they're trying something a little different and, dare I say, theatrical. A bit of imagination is what sets many a beloved band apart from the oceans of dudes with long hair 'playing Metal', so kudos to them for that.

The music is the key though, and there's enough quality heavy tuneage on this new EP for them to make an impact on the underground scene.




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