Beelzefuzz

Beelzefuzz

Written by: BV on 10/09/2013 09:45:25

Beelzefuzz is a doom/stoner-metal trio consisting of Dana Ortt (guitar & vocals), Pug Kirby (bass) and Darin McCloskey (drums), that seems to have garnered quite the reputation in recent years where they have often been labeled as having an individual and somewhat unique approach to a genre dominated by The Obsessed/Pentagram/Black Sabbath worshippers. – Thus piquing my interest to such an extent that I had to check out their self-titled debut album.

Album opener “Reborn” is a strong indication of what might have given this band that particular reputation. Opening with a riff that pays a sufficient amount of tribute to the likes of Sabbath, the track develops in a slightly progressive and somewhat unique manner as it ends up being far less heavy than what I have become accustomed to in doom-territory. That’s not to say that this isn’t heavy, as it’s still got that nice chug to it – it’s just not an absolutely crushing wave of riffing that’s hurled directly at the listener. The stoner-shuffle of “Sirens Song” continues this general soundscape and it is slowly becoming clear that the ‘typical’ or ‘classic’ elements of the doom legends still have a most powerful presence in this soundscape. However, it is also quite clear that these elements serve as the traditional platform from which Beelzefuzz, in spite of their hilarious name, seem to cement the fact that they are in fact quite the promising trio.

Whilst there is nothing flashy about Beelzefuzz, one could argue that their soundscape is actually quite complex when considering that the band itself operates as a trio. On “Lonely Creatures”, a simplistic yet powerful track, Beelzefuzz utilize a minimalistic soundscape with an abundant presence – the simple catchiness of the riff and the easily memorable vocal melody seems to do their part in making the track memorable, but in reality I would say that this track’s success derives from the sheer fact that Beelzefuzz aren’t ‘over-selling’ it. It sounds like a trio playing, but the soundscape is still rich and complex – without becoming overwhelming. In other words, it’s minimalism as minimalism should always be.

As the album nears its close with “Light That Blinds” I remain confident in the fact that Beelzefuzz are indeed worthy of the majority of hype and buzz I’ve caught about them. However, it is becoming somewhat clearer that they are still new to the album-release game. The total of 8 songs of reasonable length on the album is a wise decision, as the general vibe is steadily growing tiresome and I’m steadily finding myself to be quite a bit more restless at this point. Nonetheless, I’ll close by saying that this album is definitely a grower and seeing that this is the band’s first studio album, I can only hope for great things to come on the next one.

7

Download: Reborn, Lonely Creatures, Sirens Song
For The Fans Of: Kadavar, Black Sabbath, Bright Curse
Listen: facebook.com

Release Date 09.08.2013
The Church Within Records


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