(c) John Malley
Seattle has long been the hub of the music world and still produces exciting bands that deserve some attention. sandrider have been around for a relatively long time and are exploring the limits of heaviness with growing enthusiasm. Their stoner riffs like to break through already blurred boundaries into the metallic and hit the rough end. For their fourth album “Enveletation” they took more than four and a half years, which was more than worth it.
The fact that the US trio has a certain weakness for the sci-fi dystopia “Dune” shouldn’t be anything new – the band name alone gives it away. As an opener, “Alia” also fits seamlessly into this desert world. By far the longest song on this record rolls on powerfully and likes to transfigure the border between stoner and sludge. Brooding heaviness, slightly punctuated tempo and hoarse vocals drive the track ahead of itself, which subsequently sheds its skin a bit. Especially the cumbersome and yet powerfully rolling middle part can do everything. Later, a guitar solo slows the tempo even further until the thing slowly dies down.
A “Proteus” isn’t that sweaty, but skilfully gets the maximum out of the corresponding stoner pressure waves. The song rolls on menacingly and manically, reminds of Red Fang and – no na ned – takes a good amount of grunge with it. Of course, Sandrider have a lot of that in their luggage, see and hear “Grouper”, for example, which puts the corresponding bitter sweetness together with angry pressure. “Circles” also tries to be appropriately nonchalant, only to turn around the corner in a totally crazy to destructive way in the next moment. “Ixian”, which plays Alice In Chains on punk and in between expands it with gruff heaviness, is similar.
Sandrider feel audibly comfortable between these strange chairs and throw out one neck punch following the next. Yes, “Enveletration” turns out to be incredibly powerful and overwhelming, but in the end that’s exactly what makes the charm of this odd and rousing work of art. In terms of heaviness, the guys from Seattle up the ante and shape the stoner riffs from brute to brooding, skilfully loosened up by palatable melodies and a pleasantly confused grunge ambiguity. Anything Sandrider touch turns to gold once more – so that we finally get wind of it in this country.
Rating: 8/10
Available from: 03/03/2023
Available through: Satanik Royalty Records (Bertus)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sandriderseattle
Slider-Pic (c) John Malley
Category: Magazin, Reviews
