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Album Introduction
Understanding of roots, taut individuality
Holy Mountain [The Holy Mountain]
0. From the band title...
From the band title inspired by Sleep's second album [Holy Mountain] (1992), which completed the stoner metal sound with Matt Pike joining, Holy Mountain's pursuit is clear. Real stoner/sludge metal. Based on Black Sabbath, which can be said to be the foundation of heavy metal, the task is to rebuild the elements of heaviness that heavy metal has completed over the past 50 years in the Holy Mountain way. And now you are listening to Holy Mountain's debut album [The Holy Mountain], which has created its own amazingly complete stoner.
1. Stoner/Sludge Metal
One of the most important changes in discussing 21st century heavy metal is the spread of styles that transform stoner, sludge, or doom metal. Its roots are deep. From the 1980s, pioneers such as Black Flag, COC (Corrosion of Conformity), and the Melvins began attempts to combine Black Sabbath's insane heaviness with hardcore punk. Their influence led to the genre developing in earnest in the 1990s, sharing the roots of Black Sabbath but also having the individuality of the local scene. Finally, stoner/sludge emerges as a major subgenre of rock/metal in the 2000s.
The stoner genre, which developed mainly in the western United States, is led by strong leaders such as Kyuss and Sleep, and spreads to Fu Manchu, High On Fire, Monster Magnet in the eastern United States, and Electric Wizard in the United Kingdom. This stoner sound, also known as desert rock, pursues slow but concise riffs. In the southern United States, similar but different types of damp and evil sludge bands appeared, with Eyehategod, Crowbar, and Soilent Green, which contained slow and large southern grooves, establishing themselves as bands of bands. DOWN, a luxurious lineup of Pantera, Eyehategod, Crowbar, and COC, also led the popularization of this genre.
Stoner/sludge is not only a genre in itself, but also an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the heaviness scene that seeks novelty through constant collaboration with punk, death metal, post-rock, progressive metal, etc. For example, Neurosis creatively adds hardcore punk to stoner, and Cult of Luna in Sweden deconstructively adds death metal to sludge to become a pioneer of post-metal. Pig Destroyer reinterprets grindcore as stoner to create avant-garde metal, while Baroness and Mastodon forge a progressive heaviness sound based on stoner.
2. Holy Mountain
Stoner/sludge is not only the most influential subgenre in the current world rock/metal scene, but it is also constantly transforming by accepting creative attempts brought by new challengers. It can be said to be the oldest heaviness genre from its ancestor Black Sabbath and (in its open attitude to change) the youngest. In Korea, Eden attempted an original form in the 1980s, and Black Medicine, Knockdown, Tug-of-War, and Smoking Barrels have played music pursuing stoner/doom metal. Holy Mountain's music deviates from the doom-oriented style pursued by previous bands and contains an attempt to fully convey the true value and charm of stoner metal through bluesy guitar playing and heavy bass and drum playing that expresses the intense groove of southern metal.
Holy Mountain consists of bassist and vocalist Seo Hyung-jin, who has worked in Hailstorm and Smoking Barrels, drummer Kim Yo-seop from Burn My Bridges and Smoking Barrels, and guitarist Cho Su-yong from Shellback and Smoking Barrels. The three members share the background of having worked together in Smoking Barrels. In addition, they also have musical roots that have played adjacent genres that have been added and developed throughout the history of stoner/sludge, such as groove metal and hardcore punk. Thanks to this, Holy Mountain's music naturally has the heavy groove of southern metal and the uncompromising attitude of hardcore undulating throughout the album.
3. Seven Individualities
The first song, "...at the Mountains of Madness," which begins with the sound of a desolate wind, takes its motif from H.P. Lovecraft's novel [At the Mountains of Madness] from the lyrics. Not only does it actively use wah-wah pedals for both guitar and bass to bring out its unique groove, but in the case of bass, it pours out various sound experiments using bass synths. The bass's performance is an attempt made possible because the drums and guitar firmly support it, and thanks to this, the speaker-bursting excitement that Cliff Burton showed in 'The Call of Ktulu' is pursued in the Holy Mountain style. This energy continues intact until the following 'Promised Land'.
The flavorful guitar solo and bass performance of the wah-wah pedal appropriately add flavor like seasoning to the entire album. If the solo of 'Make My Day' and the bluesy riff in the second half are the taste of the guitar, the bass performance of 'Sweet Nothings' with a slight ornamentation covers the entire song with the charm of a throbbing groove. The solidity of the drums that match the bass can be properly confirmed in 'Show You My Way', which reveals its presence with heavy floor toms and tom-toms between the bass performances that step on the wah-wah pedal. In this song, you can also enjoy Seo Hyung-jin's wonderful vocals, which expanded his unique vocal style between the growling and mid-range shouts that Ahn Heung-chan of Crash created, and you can also fully enjoy the band's rich musical nourishment in the rough hardcore-style guitar riff.
'Maximum Overdrive' shows what kind of music with a sound is created when bluesy stoner metal is turned up to the maximum volume. In the first place, stoner metal, which started in the Palm Desert area of California, did it not originate from a culture of enjoying the sound turned up all night by loading generators and huge amps into the desert? 'No Compromise' is a song that feels the influence of hardcore and groove metal. The frenzy that grinds 1 minute and 50 seconds is hot, from the fast-paced riff to the distorted tone bass solo created by stepping on the wah-wah pedal to the end.
The feast of drums, guitars, and bass armed with sticky grooves and hot tones unfolds thickly over seven songs. Fans who pursue the heavy nuances of gothic and sludge will be moved by listening to the one-two punch of '....at the Mountains of Madness' and 'Promised Land'. Fans who draw the early stoner metal where hardcore and stoner met primitively will be enthusiastic about the second half ending with 'Show You My Way', 'Maximum Overdrive', and 'No Compromise'. If you like stoner with the sexy groove of Clutch or Monster Magnet, I am sure you will be satisfied listening to 'Sweet Nothings' and 'Make My Day'.
4. ... Entrance and Exit
This album is, in a word, a perfect guide to stoner introduction. This is because not only are various musical nutrients of stoner naturally melted, but it also properly shows its charm. Furthermore, it also serves as an exit that allows you to move on to the stoner/sludge that Sleep or Kyuss, Eyehategod showed, stirring the abyss based on the sound contained in this album. In addition, the groove of southern rock and the individuality of Cliff Burton, an unparalleled bassist, interpreted in the Holy Mountain way are tightly contained. A great work by Holy Mountain, a wonderful band that confirms the current state of Korean heaviness that is small but solid and does not fear change. It is an entrance to stoner/sludge metal and an exit that leads to a deeper world.
- Jo Il-dong (Editor-in-chief of Music Taste Y)
