SANDRIDER – Enveletration
Release Date: 3rd March 2023
Label: Satanik Royalty Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Loud Rock, Stoner, Post-Hardcore.
FFO: Mastodon, High on Fire, Fugazi, June of 44.
Review By: Eric Wilt
SANDRIDER is a “loud rock” band from the home of loud rock bands, Seattle, Washington. And while SANDRIDER doesn’t sound exactly like the bands who called Seattle home during the alternative and grunge explosion of the 90s, they definitely share those bands’ penchant for writing memorable hard rock songs. Made up of Nat Damm on drums, Jesse Roberts on bass and vocals, and Jon Weisnewski on guitar and vocals, SANDRIDER’s sound falls somewhere in the sweet spot between stoner and post-hardcore. On 3 March 2023, they will release their fourth record, Enveletration, onto the world, and if you’ve never had the pleasure of listening to a SANDRIDER record, you’re going to want to keep an eye out for it when it drops.
Upon first listen, SANDRIDER’s stoner roots jump out at you. The sludgy riffs and screamed vocals in songs like Alia, Tourniquet, and Slumber put me in mind of stalwarts of the genre like Mastodon and High on Fire. With multiple listens, it becomes apparent that SANDRIDER is more than just another stoner band worshipping at the altar of Black Sabbath. The aforementioned Alia begins with a slick riff that puts me in mind of what would happen if the Smashing Pumpkins had a baby with Wolfmother. The title track sounds like something from fellow Seattle natives Roadside Monument’s oeuvre, and songs like Circles and Weasel sound like Fugazi. That’s not to say that SANDRIDER sounds like they are trying to copy anybody. Instead, it sounds like the band has taken all of these wonderful influences together and turned them into ten tracks of really great “loud rock” that is all their own.
Seattle will always be known as the home of a number of really amazing rock bands, and with Enveletration, SANDRIDER is keeping Seattle’s flame alive. If your tastes fall anywhere between Mastodon and Fugazi, you’re going to find a lot to love on Enveletration.
(3.5 / 5)
