Mute & Brutal

Off to the Folk Festival again soon. Bellowhead were pretty sweet last night.


DOMES OF SILENCE – TEMPLE OF THE WASP (download single)


The press release for this new single by the local stalwarts of heavy thump suggests a new genre to encompass the sound, “Brutal Beat”. Hmm, not bad, but we’re not entirely convinced, because if there’s one thing this record isn’t, it’s brutal. It’s loud and dense, we’ll give you that, but it has no aggression, and is all the better for it.

The A side trudges along like a stoned troll, a big low greasy riff dragging itself over fat steady drums. The effect is a mixture of Blue Cheer’s narcotic sludge rock and the deep fried stylings of mid-period Primal Scream. We rather like the tone of the track, its inexorable motion and a lack of ornamentation that becomes almost psychedelic as the time goes by. There is not a shred of raging brutality here, but there is the sort of slow uncaring power exhibited by geological pressure – who needs anger or violence when you have mass?

Having said this there are some very neat little guitar overdubs to stop the tune being crushed by its own weight, and companion track “Bad Wisdom” chops along at a slightly sprightlier pace, proving that Domes Of Silence have their eyes on the rock market, not the cowled arty enclaves of avant metal. We shan’t claim these hunks of weighty grunge are anything revolutionary, but we do enjoy the music’s lead-heavy presence and respect the single-mindedness that has gone into the impeccable recording. Turn it up loud, nod your head and just give in to the trundling juggernaut groove. Beats brutality.