EARTH SHIP - Soar - Metal Epidemic

EARTH SHIP – Soar
Release Date: 9th August 2024
Label: The Lasting Dose Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Doom, Sludge, Stoner Metal.
FFO: Melvins, Mastodon, Crowbar, Celtic Frost.
Review By: Mark Young

Returning after 6 years of radio silence, Earth Ship have announced its return with Soar, bringing with it a rock-solid groove and a place where the riff is king, and you must bow accordingly. Reviewing music is something of a godsend during these uncertain times, and having an album that does its level best to take you somewhere and allow you to recharge, away from social media and the constant barrage of hateful images. Anyway, back to the music.

Shallow is the impeccable opening track, immediately the tone is akin to the most soothing and satisfying, imagine the smoothest, honey-infused drink you could find as it gradually expands with a delicate Wah treatment and on-point drumming from André Klein that soon moves into the animalistic, with Jan Oberg’s vocals dominating. I think the sludge tag is possibly misleading here, it’s a refined sound but still heavy AF. The central melody line is an earworm of the highest order. Title track, Soar, stays on that path with that guitar tone/super-efficient drumming pushing them ever forward. It’s a wonderful noise, and it’s difficult not to nod along to this as it picks up the pace a little in the closing moments. The cloak of doom opens on Ghost Town, the methodical pace making it feel wider in scope somehow, and its melodic lead pattern that comes in halfway is incredibly affecting as it is simple. There is no over-the-top wizardry, it’s a movement that fits the song perfectly. Radiant is an exploration into sound that the PR hinted at, and possibly if you are imbibing as you listen this will hit that much better. As an interlude, it works well enough without adversely affecting the momentum that has been built thus far.

Ethereal Limbo changes attack with a departure from the extreme vocal style to deploy a more shoegaze feel for the main body of the track. The extreme vocals are present too, but for the most part it provides them with another avenue to travel down. The drums are still solid, keeping them on-track as this eastern-tinged guitar line unfolds whilst Acrid Haze resumes normal service, dialling up the sludge as well as the angst with screeching guitar acting as counterpoint to the measured approach of the bass and drums. Bereft opens like the sound of thunder and keeps that theme going. It’s a monumental track that sounds huge and takes cues from Ethereal Limbo in pushing that dense sludge filter even further. There is a change in riff around 3.30 that is royal, absolutely royal, and shows that they add so much by not doing a lot. That is not a snarky comment, it is just the way they have built this and the other songs here. Whatever they add or takeaway is measured to the subtlest degree and works every single time. Our final song is Daze and Delights, which embraces that shoegaze vocal style once more whilst a lead is repeated over it, string bends that just sound so good. It’s one of the best tones I’ve heard committed to tape, and closes out an excellent album, one that deserves your attention, especially if sludge/doom is your jam.