Tentacula – Tentaculove

Tentacula – Tentaculove

StoneFree Records – 2019

Doom, Surf, Garage, Psych

Rated: ****

Joining the ranks of what’s become a new wave of heavy from Austria, the Linz-based five-piece Tentacula bring their own unique and captivating new spin on doom with their debut EP Tentaculove. Two elements of the band’s sound stand out immediately – the guitar tone’s surf reverb, and vocalist Penny Slick Perry’s deep, operatic wails. A genre rarely associated with the low and slow doom we know and love, the surf rock tones add an unexpected but very welcome layer to Tentacula’s sound, creating occultish vibes and a middle eastern flavor that complement their weighted garage doom perfectly. Lead track “It’s only a dream” showcases this unique sound right out of the gate, and is soon elevated when the striking vocals takeover to amp up the spooky vibes. Additional male backing vocals that wouldn’t be out of place in a stormy sea shanty join the proceedings as well, adding to an atmosphere of danger. Building naturally from the mix of sounds in “It’s only a dream”, Tentacula put their expansive bag of tricks on display across the five remaining tracks, ranging from the crushing low end doom of “Liquid Thunder” (a personal favorite) to the black metal leanings of “Stoked” and the aptly-titled surfy fun of closer “Weirdo”. Across it all, Penny’s voice creeps and soars with attitude to spare, fully capable of leading a ritual from your most tentacled of nightmares. Going far beyond pure novelty, Tentacula have crafted a complex debut of surf-toned heavy that plays with a number of influences, and succeed in highlighting and mixing them to spawn Dick Dale’s unholy doom child.

(Written by Kyle)

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