Phantom Druid – The Edge of Oblivion / Fuzz Thrower – Fuzz Thrower

 

 

Phantom Druid – The Edge of Oblivion / Fuzz Thrower – Fuzz Thrower
Off The Record Label / PowerWax Records
Stoner, Doom, Metal, Grunge
Rated: **** / ***

How prolific can one man be? If this were a Tour De France competitor, who won all kinds of pre-season races, the world championship and bunches of stages in the Tour and then the yellow jersey, he would or should be tested for performance enhancing drugs. Perhaps we should do the same with the man behind the two projects we are about to mention here. That’s right, a duo of albums in one little shout-out. Cause the honorable Tjeerd De Jong released another album called The Edge Of Oblivion for his one man project Phantom Druid only a month or three ago and now follows that up with a new one man project called Fuzz Thrower, just because he “… couldn't resist recording an album with Jazzmaster, SG, Les Paul, Fuzz pedals, and tube amplifiers…” 

Well that album immediately steers towards a more grunge take on the outsider heaviness he always delivers. And even though the album feels a bit too loose, and like a finger exercise in some places, the overall tone and groove is delicious. There is no denying that here too Mr. De Jong knows exactly how to tap into your stonerrock muscle memory. Thirty minutes of grungy stoner that will of course have leanings towards doom. Cause, well, if you know Mr. De Jong, you know where his tendencies lie. And then there’s the Last American Poet aka Shane Beck who delivers some beautiful spoken word on the final track Soon We Roam, having us relive that inspiring Black Afterglow release they did together. A touch of jazz makes this doom poetry at its best! 

And yes, poetic is once again the new Phantom Druid album The Edge Of Oblivion, where the tempo goes the way of the sloth and the doom metal the way of the zealot. Dark melancholy and twisted anxiety, the skin crawls and the blood bubbles with dread. Over forty minutes of oozing almost primordial doom, traditional in sound, speed and yet so surging and urging you to submerge in the world of the Phantom Druid. There is honor in its delivery and homage to the doom gods of yore, but with every note delivered, you will start to believe in the fact that the Phantom Druid belongs among the pantheon of doom gods… 

(Written by JK)

Phantom Druid Bandcamp

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Fuzz Thrower Bandcamp

Off The Record Label

You can read much more on Tjeerd de Jong's projects HERE!