Bongsilisk - Pater, Filius et Cannabis Sanctus

 

 

Bongsilisk - Pater, Filius et Cannabis Sanctus
Self-released - 2025
Doom, Stoner
Rated: ****

When you name your band Bongsilisk, call your album 'The Father, The Son and The Holy Cannabis' and start your haze-inducing stoner doom with a spoken sample that says, 'The only serious side-effect of marihuana, is that you might get arrested', you probably more or less know what to expect. Right away they settle into a repetitive, but extremely catchy groove that hangs somewhere in between stoner and doom and gets your body shivering, shaking and quaking in all the right places. Damn catchy it is. And just when you think 'damn, they might have to change it up a bit', that's exactly what happens. Over and over again. Yes, timing is key to keep the three tracks with an average playing time of over ten minutes called 'Pater', 'Filius' and 'Cannabis Sanctus' interesting. And Bongsilisk have got that inner clock working to perfection, giving the Swiss a run for their money in that department.

But shifting textures and creating variations to the stoner and doom themes isn't all Bongsilisk is capable of. During the passages in 'Pater' where the double kick drum gets to shine in all its penetrating glory, the sound gets pretty damn close to fierce and powerful metal, while the atmospheric and much slower 'Filius' even incorporates some post rock elements. At first subtle, but somewhere between the seven and eight minute mark - when the pace picks up a bit - it comes to full fruition. A second spoken sample acts as a tipping point, after which things get all heavy and doomy again before 'Cannabis Sanctus' (the album's highlight) gets to round things off. The intro puts you on the wrong foot with some haunting keys and a final spoken sample but soon gets blown to smithereens by an epic doom groove and hypnotizing riffs, while the rumbling bass is steady as always and gives it that thriving undercurrent. It's the most versatile, most captivating and most original track of the bunch and the ideal closer of an album that isn’t really groundbreaking, but definitely one of the better instrumental doom/stoner releases I've heard in quite a while.

(Written by Ronny Dijksterhuis)

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