Emperor Guillotine – Robot Monster
Self released – 2018
Doom, Stoner, Heavy Rock
Rated: ****
Emperor Guillotine is the brainchild of Dallas, Texas native Ben Randolph. Studying music for most of his life, he writes and records out of his home studio. Spending his teen years and early twenties going through a succession of bands that were disorganized, lacking focus, not very good or (usually) a combination of all of those traits, he decided to strike out on his own and do what he wanted. Influenced by classic heavy metal such as Black Sabbath, Ben created the Emperor Guillotine project to create music that reflects the purity, darkness and heaviness of the albums such as Master of Reality, Vol 4 and Sabotage. More modern influences include The Sword, Earth, Elder and Orchid. Unless otherwise noted, Ben does all writing, recording, programming, mixing and mastering for Emperor Guillotine. This mainly instrumental album, Robot Monster, plays like a soundtrack to an imaginary early 60’s film about the dangers of drug use and how the ‘kids’ were going feral from too much of the good stuff! Down-tuned stoner riffs rub shoulders with doomy compositions that are helped in no end by excellent use of vocal samples, slowed down and distorted into slurring narratives. Heavily fuzzed passages are relentlessly played over riffs that are made to get your head nodding. Screaming solos come in with a real ‘70’s style vibe that suits perfectly. Emperor Guillotine have produced a collection of tracks that should please anyone who worships the riff. And because they are good guys, it is name your price on Bandcamp.
(Written by Tony Maim)
