ALBUM REVIEW & TRACK PREMIERE: Red Mountains - "Slow Wander"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 01/09/2017

Label: All Good Clean Records

...it is so refreshing to find a release that is all at once heavy, accessible and frankly beautiful in its construction.

"Slow Wander" DD//LP track listing

1. Home

2. Rat King

3. Oak

4. Endless Ocean

5. Stone

6. Fog

7. Cellar Door

8. Acid Wedding

9. Returning

The Review:

Among the bins and bins and terabytes upon terabytes, it is so refreshing to find a release that is all at once heavy, accessible and frankly beautiful in its construction. While popular music fans may recoil at metal – who hasn't gotten the wrinkled noses before? – It is oftentimes because they don't understand its diversity. A band like Red Mountains may certainly create a greater appreciation for what the music's power can be.

Norway is known for a range of extreme music. Stoner rock that sounds like it was crafted on a porch just south of balmy Joshua Tree, California is not one of those styles you associate with the country. The city of Trondheim and musical group Red Mountains may well change that.

You first heard this psychedelic swirl on the quartet's 2015 debut, "Down With The Sun." The band toured widely on the strength of that sound, which feels inspired at turns by groups like Electric Wizard and Dead Meadow. What makes Red Mountains, however, so distinct is their songwriting and overall arrangements. Guitarists Magnus Riise and Jostein Wigenstad are peerless in their respective lead and backing vocals. The songs offer uncomplicated chronicles that are at turns personal and at still others rich with fantasy. "Fog"and "Oak" among other tracks tell engrossing stories that carry on as a thread elsewhere. Another standout, "Cellar Door,"demonstrates the picturesque lyrics you catch throughout, to convey vignettes you do not expect.

A band this sharp with its recording has to see its drum and bass acknowledged. Percussionist Simen Mathiassen and Sverre Dalen on bass shine on several cuts. They command the best songs, including "Acid Wedding" and "Rat King." Again, much mystical storytelling that is aided and abetted by the emotional marks Red Mountains' rhythm section lands. You will not catch a blast furnace of music. "Slow Wander" is exactly what it says: a slow and purposeful wander through a universe Riise's words bring to life. A wondrous world it is too.

"Slow Wander" is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook