Lunar Swamp - UnderMudBlues
Self released - March 2020
Doom, blues, southern, stoner
Rated: ****
Beginning with swampy soundbytes of bog critters chirping and croaking, Italian trio Lunar Swamp quickly set the tone with a creepy, occultish atmosphere that brings to life the excellent art on their debut album "UnderMudBlues". Opener "Shamanic Owl" cuts through the swamp sounds to dive into a stomping doomy riff laden with fuzz, channeling classic Sabbath complete with guitar hammering a la Iommi. The vocals are deep and almost operatic in their devilish crooning, deepening the murky atmosphere with an added layer of menacing mystery. The icing on top of the cake, however, is the dash of southern blues thrown in with the occasional sliding lick and keening harmonica cutting through, touches that pull together perfectly the heavy doom and melancholy blues making up the album's five cuts. Another album highlight is penultimate track "Green Swamp", which lures the listener in with slides and strums both crunchy and echoing in a sonic equivalent of the title, before lurching into a low and slow stomp with evil intent. Final cut "Creeping Snakes" lives up to its name as well as the three piece fade back into the mire with clean, morose strumming over the sounds of the bog and distant cracks of thunder. "UnderMudBlues" is a powerful debut and a lesson in atmosphere and style, melding Sabbathian riffs with a southern blues flair in total commitment to Lunar Swamp's unique and vivid vision of doom.
(Written by Shasta Beast)
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