In which Gothenburg stoner/doom merchants FIREBREATHER return with their all-important third album, Dwell In The Fog, hopefully ready to kick ass and take names. Given their previous album titles of Firebreather and Under A Blood Moon, and that both were solid efforts in their own right (rite?), methinks there may be something of the elemental in the band, what with fog now making an appearance.
Opener ‘Kiss Of Your Blade’ flicks open the album, rusty, nicked and dry-blood-covered, no trendy desert or dune-buggy surfboard rawk ala FU MANCHU here, the rumble more akin to METH DRINKER and KRUGER. Flowing ‘n’ fluid, the title track begins clearly in no rush to get anywhere, but where a good bit of stoner-influenced acts have lost sight of the fact that a tune should be a journey, not a simple floating about directionless, FIREBREATHER solidifies quickly, heavy yet melodic here, interesting guitar phrases emerging from the mist now and again.
‘Weather The Storm’ positively swaggers, a slow yet measured and aggressive stomp to the tender parts if there’s to be one found on Dwell In The Fog. Minimal CLUTCH influence arrives (think ’12 Ounce Epilogue’) in Mattias Nööjd’s delivery, the rhythm section of Wittbeck and Hellqvist [drums/bass, respectively] providing shifting Tectonic plates, vital to the sound of the trio. More percussive at the start than a lot of what’s found herein, ‘The Creed’ thuds, thundering, a strain of SOUNDGARDEN in the guitarwork ala Ultramega OK and prior, but slower, more distraught.
Overall, what FIREBREATHER’s accomplished here is impressive, in that Dwell In The Fog keeps to the same basic framework as the trio’s prior output, but raises the bar just enough to both let the current fans know they ain’t sleeping on their laurels, while providing an open door for newcomers.
Review By: Lord Randall
FIREBREATHER
Dwell In The Fog
RidingEasy Records
4 / 6