The Blacktones – The Longest Year

 

 

The Blacktones – The Longest Year
Sleaszy Rider Records – September 2024
Rock, Metal, Sludge, Doom, Grunge, Death
Rated: ***

There are many The Blacktones bands, but this The Blacktones outfit originally formed in Sardinia in 2011 as an instrumental band and through the years and with the addition of members have multiplied not only in numbers but also in sound. Through their musical progression they’ve evolved from stoner metal into more sludge metal territory with death, doom, and grunge as influences, resulting in a formidable combination.

With ‘The Longest Year’ The Blacktones bring an arsenal to the table, one such weapon is the vocalist Aaron Tolu with his multiple styles at the microphone. From a clean melodic voice to his screams and guttural growls, this guy has range! Whether the music forms around his vocal variations or vice versa, they certainly complement each other, as the instrumentation unfolds various tempos and techniques throughout.

The single ‘The Parade’ starts with drums and electronics playing with polyrhythmic elements and a massive sounding bass, with the vocals having the occasional young Phil Anselmo tone to them on the verses, but with more discipline. The song ‘Older Brother’ brings out some of the grunge influence I mentioned earlier with an Alice in Chains vibe to it with the grungy double guitars leading the way, as well as a powerful chorus channeling Layne Staley. ‘Take This Time’ is more of a heavy rock song structure wise with a great flow to it transforming from melodic clean verses to a distorted chorus, leading to a bridge interlude with a spacey, bluesy lead guitar before slamming back into the main tune.

With ‘The Longest Year’ crossing multiple genres and soundscapes, The Blacktones have numerous influences that bleed into their music and though they are literally on an island their music knows no bounds and their fanbase has no border.

(Written by Jon McGough)

Album comes out September 2024. Listen to their 2017 The Day We Shut Down The Sun album here...




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