Ponddigger - Nocturnal Hymnal

 

 

Ponddigger - Nocturnal Hymnal
Transcendental Revolution – 2025 
Doom, Stoner
Rated: ****

They sneaked their way into the February 2024 Doom Charts with their self-titled album Ponddigger. At Number 29 they did not get a blurb, but back then we did that Stoner Hype thing and wrote a few words about that great release: "Ponddigger hails from Brodhead, Kentucky and brings a hailstorm of hazy, fuzzy doom and stoner. Their self-titled debut sports all that ten ton heavy good stuff! No stress, no seeds, no stems, no sticks! Some of that real sticky-icky-icky stoner doom!" Well, ‘that shitty stoner band you've never heard of’ is back with another great release, it’s called Nocturnal Hymnal and sports nine tracks of weedy and hazy doom. Out since April 11th on Lexington, Kentucky based record label Transcendental Revolution we get fifty minutes of their take on the doom tradition. Starting off their foggy infusion with a highly atmospheric instrumental campfire tale called Whiskey Cricket. Following Burn Bitch ups the ante, drags you all enflamed from the campfire, gets the fog smelling filthy and the doom a marching! Pretorius feels every bit of a doom anthem as those you’ve been nodding your head and yelling along with for the many years you’ve been alive. The speedier, stoner grooving Buzzards follows, great riffs and guitar work, rolling over smashing drums. And thanks to those echoing vocals, the howls, the vaporous screams, a bit of mystery and an eerie vibe is ever present. The Mephistopheles Children opens with a snippet and tunes into a more occult ambiance, giving us yet another side of the murky Ponddigger universe. A universe that continues on for another four songs, with a more bluesy seventies Necromantic Lover's Waltz and ending with the eight and half minute long Acid Hell (Feat. Benzodrones). A wild and voidian ending to this beautiful Ponddigger creation. A universe steeped in eternal twilight, filled with shadows and a constant fuzzy hum. The perfect soundtrack for howling at the moon… 

(Written by JK)

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