Review: Henry Blacker - Summer Tombs

Right, let's get the whole Hey Colossus thing out of the way.....not through any disrespect to HC (au contraire...'In Black And Gold' is one of my fave LPs this year thus far) but rather that a lot has been made of the connection between the two (2 of the 3 members of Henry Blacker are also in HC) but Henry Blacker deserve to be seen as a wholly separate entity with their own style and brand of stoner/noise/dirty rock. There, that's that done!

'Summer Tombs' comes hot on the heels of 'Hungry Dogs Will Eat Dirty Puddings' which garnered much praise last year - that one was recorded for a reputed £450, and 'Summer Tombs' was recorded in one day (produced by Westminster Brown of noiseniks Part Chimp infamy). What Henry Blacker would be able achieve with time AND money truly boggles the mind!

The band are named after the 'British Giant' born in Cuckfield, Sussex in 1724 who made a living from 'exhibiting' himself - at 7' 4" he drew crowds who gawked at his height. That mix of folklore, sideshow freakery and voyeuristic schadenfreude seem apt for a band who produce some of the dirtiest, skuzziest riffs this side of Hades and yet have a real sense of devilment in their lyrics (exhibit no.1 "Bet you wish you'd never seen his ad / when you see him fall out of a cab / four hours on the ferry / and he stinks of come and cooking sherry" ('Shit Magus') genius.....sheer fuckin' genius!



Music-wise, I'm probably not the first nor the last to make the Queens Of The Stone Age / Kyuss comparison but it's not that simple; they may have taken the QotSA / Kyuss template but they have given it their own unique twist - the riffs are heavier, the guitars more distorted, the lyrics wittier and it sounds altogether more down'n'dirty. As well as Mr Homme et al there are hints of Big Black ('Landlubber') and even Nirvana (if Nirvana had gone down the stoner route ) on 'The Plague' but never wanders far from the sludgey riff path; from the very start there is no let up in the slabs of swampy guitars and soul-crushing heavyness, except the closer 'Summer Tombs' which is more of slow-burner about the death of a loved one (cheery eh?). One of the many, many outstanding qualities of the album are the vocals (courtesy of Tim Farthing)...one minute languid, the next a gut-wrenching howl as if a being possessed. This is a swaggering record full of power, monolithic riffs, malevolence and twisted humour - what's not to love?

Much Kudos must be given to Riot Season records who are rapidly becoming the new Amphetamine Reptile or Blast First, such is their burgeoning roster of noise merchants.

'Summer Tombs' will be available to buy on CD & digital download from Riot Season Records on 18th April 2015. The vinyl edition (in a funky blue) is being released as a Record Store Day vinyl exclusive only. It will be limited to 300 copies and any copies remaining will be sold from the Riot Season website (from the 27th April) but I would imagine that there will be very few unsold, so those of us who will not be able to grab a copy on RSD will have to cross our fingers for a vinyl repress at some time!