Review: Holy Mount - The Drought

Those with long memories may remember that back in July 2015 I reviewed 'We Fell From The Sky' by Toronto fuzzheads Holy Mount and given a vinyl release by White Dwarf Records. The album was an absolute scorcher and the same band/label combo have teamed up once more for the new album 'The Drought'...and guess what...it's another belter!

The album is full of the same heavy-as-fuck riffs, drenched in fuzz and distortion and artfully straddles that line between psych and more stoner based rock. Case in point, 'Division' (the second track after the surprising mellow guitar of the short opener 'Ground Water') opens with an almighty crash of drums and echo laden riffs that could strip the lead from the roof. It has the same muted vocals and fuzziness that imbues it with a definite psychedelic edge but the riffs roil like a storm lashed ocean. As the track progresses the tempo increases until it reaches fever pitch....huge! 'Basalt' picks up from the same point...gargantuan riff and pulsating bass line battling for supremacy with the pummelling drums. If anything this is more straight up stoner but there is still enough fuzz to keep psychonauts happy, especially later when the goliath sized riffs are swapped for more introspective guitar meanderings. It's one of those tracks that you just can't keep from nodding along with. 'Omni Cide' has such a cool intro...heavy twang and very noir....until the doom sets in. The riffs are just as heavy as the previous tracks but the whole feel is just more ...well...doomy. You can hear flashes of Sleep's seminal 'Dopesmoker' in places (and that's high praise indeed!) but there is more light let in through the darkness, some periods of ringing psych guitar that cuts through the sepulchral morass. 'Blackened Log' throws up something new in the shape of a synth setting up an oscillating drone but it is not long before normal service is resumed. The now familiar fuzzy wall of sound and ghostly Black Angelsesque vocals kick in and we are off on another journey, careering headlong down Psych Avenue. 'Blood Cove' is another track which benefits from a more doomy approach, sulphurous guitars and graveyard drums conjure up an aura of heavy desolation before some exemplary psych guitar raises from below to above. It's this kind of structural creativity and playing that makes this such a good album. The title track, 'The Drought' brings things to a close in style. Some beautiful wah-wah creates a lush psychedelic vibe and the low whisper of a perpetual fuzzy wall-of-sound beneath the guitar and vocal gives the track depth and texture. It's not long though until things are knocked up a notch...the tempo picks up and the fuzzy backdrop creeps further and further into the foreground and the track becomes a wonderful tapestry of psychedelic sounds, hard-as-nails riffs and thudding drums. Everything eventually falls apart into a droning pit of emptiness.

'The Drought' is every bit as good as 'We Fell From The Sky'...in fact, if anything it is better. It is heavier and more stoner based but still retains an obvious psychedelic bent. For me, it's the playing that makes it so very good - these guys are technically adept at what they do and have that enviable skill of being as heavy as hell but still capable of weaving soundscapes and atmospheres - there is a subtlety about their playing that keeps things interesting and certainly a peg or two above the normal stoner/psych fare. Another winner for band and label. ‘The Drought’ is up for pre-order now at White Dwarf records. It is available in limited edition yellow 180gm vinyl (150 copies) and 180gm black vinyl (350 copies).