Belzebong - Sonic Scapes & Weedy Grooves (2011)

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Belzebong - Sonic Scapes & Weedy Grooves (2011)

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Need some new soundtracks for your weed-smoking sessions? Do you feel Bongzilla and Stonehelm are going stale like that year old bong water in your ceramic skull-pipe, don't worry; Poland's Belzebong is back with a new EP of smokey riffage. Their 2010 demo was impressive but it sounds pale compared to this wall of sonic sludge. What grabs you by the balls here is the mighty production, these 4 tracks sounds massive and there is a marked improvement in the quality of riffing in the two new songs that are featured on this EP. They were brutal before but they are totally insane now. They still have the Stonehelm meets Bongripper thing going but there is also a bit more originality with the 2 new tracks on this release that's got the great title of, 'Sonic Scapes & Weedy Grooves.'

The band drowns themselves in a sea of distortion, fuzz and enough bottom-end to cure the worst case of constipation - in other words this music will make you shit. One thing which kind of bites if you are already a fan is two of the songs were on the demo, namely 'Bong Thrower' and 'Names of the Devil.' I would have loved to have heard some new stuff but can't complain too much as these tunes sound even better here. 'Bong Thrower' is a tune that starts incredibly heavy and then just gets even heavier. It is monolithic to the extreme but fairly simple but also hypnotic to the point of a LSD freak-out experience. 'Names of the Devil' is sick, deranged and slighty more complex with a great groove. It is more infectious than 'Bong Thrower' and it was the best song on the demo and is the pick of the litter on this EP as well…..killer tune.

The two new songs are the real eye-openers here that prove this band is no gimmick band based around weed-worshiping anthems. 'Witch Rider' and 'Acid Funeral' carry on with the same repetitive, hypnotic riffing style established on the demo but they sound more musically proficient in the song-writing department. All the same elements that you would expect are here, psychedelic yet crushing riffing that repeatedly hits you over the head with pulsating, sluggish energy. Belzebong are persistent at nailing a riff home but they also add spaced-out elements that produce a mesmerizing atmosphere. Belzebong might not be the most technical band around and they might be lacking interesting concepts, after all, the band is mostly instrumental and the weed obsession concept is getting pretty dull these days but this band is weedian riffage at its very best. However it remains to be seen if this band would seem so great if they were to release a full length album, it could get a tad boring if this was to drag on for an hour or more. For fans of Bongripper, Stonehelm, Lord Of Doubts, Electric Wizard, Bongzilla and Mozergush…

~ 9/10 from www.doommantia.com