By: Mark Ambrose
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released:06/04/2018
Label: Australopithecus Records
Like the mythos of Tolkien himself, “Second Sight” is a vast, apocalyptic, intimidating slab of genius and practically invites obsessives and neophytes alike to bask in the overwhelming worlds within.
“Second Sight” DD//LP track listing
1. Black Numenorean
2. Recurring Grave
3. Axis Mundi
4. The Seer
The Review:
Since the 1960s rebirth of “The Lord of the Rings” as the go-to fantasy epic of counterculture, the utopian, religious, horrific, and even whimsical elements of J.R.R. Tolkien’s opus have been peppered into practically every subgenre of pop and rock music. Whether the weird folk pop single “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins” (Leonard Nimoy’s only musical hit), the numerous references in Led Zeppelin’s catalog, the derivative fantasy prog epics of power metal, countless band names, or the Uruk-hai obsessions of black metallers, there’s something about the Tolkien’s “Legendarium” that invites musical adaptation, inspiration, and exploration. On the flipside, it’s also inspired a lot of eye-rolling crap – insipid name checks, tedious inside jokes, or, most insidiously, the racially coded misreading of particularly deficient black metal types. Mostly, musicians who take on Tolkien shrink in comparison to the monolithic power; Foehammer is not one of these casualties of hubris. The doom metal power trio is one of the only modern units formidable enough to wrestle with the Nazgul and emerge victorious.
“Black Numenorean” is the only explicit “Tolkien namecheck” song on Foehammer’s debut full length, “Second Sight”, but the entirety of the record is viscerally, elementally brutal, like a reverberating pyroclastic blast from Mount Doom. Tolkien’s “Black Numenoreans” are the original corrupted men, turned against the powers of good to support their own sinister ambitions, and Foehammer’s auditory rendering is the perfect metaphor of corruption and martial obsession. Stomping, rolling blasts of guitar fuzz, slowly aching bass riffs, and crashing percussion are the perfect soul-demolishing soundtrack for nihilistic evil. I could imagine Sauron himself bellowing in sinister triumph through Jay Cardinell’s trademark death growls.
“Recurring Grave” may not be distinctly Tolkeinesque, but it continues the strain of trudging orc sludge, winding up to agonizing, palm muted buildups. Joe Cox’s guitar tone is spot on – a gradual build of feedback and subtly bluesy riffs that you’ll find yourself humming for days afterward. The ethereal fingerpicking intro of “Axis Mundi” may have you thinking you’ve stumbled into Rivendell, but Foehammer quickly descends back into total darkness. The rhythmic one two punch of Cardinell’s bass and Vang’s titanic drum hits is pure filthy doom joy, while Cox gets to ramp up his playing for a full on shredding solo.
The closing sixteen-minute epic, “The Seer”, is a perfect apotheosis of “Second Sight”’sexpansive tone, doom riffing, and occasional guitar freakouts; Cardinell’s growl is truly menacing, Vang’s drums pummel and then retreat, and the fuzz is unrelenting. Jay’s bass, allowed a minute to churn alone, has the perfect mix of crackle and clarity. The nearly instrumental second half is a transcendent final dirge that will break your neck from glacial but memorable hooks and riffs, before a final screeching fadeout that will beg you to fire up this LP all over again. Like the mythos of Tolkien himself, “Second Sight” is a vast, apocalyptic, intimidating slab of genius and practically invites obsessives and neophytes alike to bask in the overwhelming worlds within.
“Second Sight” is available here
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