Monthly(ish) Recomendations #4 - Subetroth
These are still monthly, I just haven't published the last several of them that I've written because I didn't feel like it because depression happens. That is a true story.
Today I am doing two recommendations from the same band because they are criminally underrated for how downright impressive their songwriting, production, and entire concept are.
Subetroth are a doom/stoner metal band from Modesto, California that use entirely fretless guitars and basses, tuned a full octave down from standard tuning. That means that their guitars are tuned as low as a bass would typically be, and the bass is tuned so low that the only accurate descriptor I can give for its sound is "pissed off grizzly bear."
The first album I'll be talking about is the reason why Anaxiom, my death metal solo project, uses a bear skull in its main logo, as an homage to the band that introduced me to doom metal as a genre. And that first album is...
Native Alien (2016)
Native Alien, the band's debut, begins with Mr. Yan. This is the second shortest track on the list, and the first minute of the song sets the mood for the next hour or so of slow, sludgy doom to come. The contrast between the first thirty seconds or so and the main riff kicking in basically sum up how it feels to hear Subetroth in comparison to some of their less massive sounding contemporaries. The song has a bit of everything the band has to offer, reaching into the "faster" tempos to contrast the slow, groovy riffs, as well as having a mixture of cleanly sung parts, screams, and growls.
Res Judicata, the closer, is another easy recommendation at it is much more digestible than the rest of the album, clocking in at just under seven minutes compared to most of the others being ten or over. It's another somewhat higher tempo track that emphasizes groove and aggression, and ends with some of the best slidey riffs you'll ever hear. It's also a great example of the album's stellar production, particularly in the bass and guitar tones.
Vocalist/bassist Scott Randle's obscenely downtuned five string bass was run through a myriad of distortion pedals and captured with several microphones, creating a downright disgusting sound of midrangey snarl that cuts cleanly through the center of the mix while also creating a constant, enormous low end that fills everything out. The guitars, on the other hand, are articulate and defined while still being incredibly grindy, saturated, and sludgy. And, being fretless, the attack is much less harsh than a typical 8 string. It just sounds thick and heavy, as all good doom metal should.
The only weak point on the record in my opinion is Battle Charge on a Stoned Stallion which, while having an awesome galloptacular opening riff, features a long guitar solo section that I personally am not a huge fan of melodically, and is followed up by a dissonant, pounding chord and feedback section that goes on a few measures longer than it needs to, but that's all subjective, anyway. The other tracks (in particular the song A Sure Posture and Generic Poise) are all great and the whole album is a wonderful slice of experimental doom metal goodness.
Agnozia (2017)
Agnozia, being the band's second and latest (as of this writing) release, is somewhat more experimental in terms of instrumentation and dynamics, beginning with what is easily my favorite song that the band has ever written, Ungrown Tug. It wastes no time, immediately plunging you into a driving, slide-laden, grooving riff that's topped with... banjo.
Yes, this is doom metal with a banjo playing the main melody. It is every bit as weird as it sounds and it is every bit as swampy and badass as the album art would suggest. After a mixture of riffs, you reach the chaotic midsection that actually leans more towards grindcore territory than it does doom, and does not in any way prepare you for what comes after.
You see, in most cases the banjo would be weird enough and most bands would call it a day after putting that in their opener, but Subetroth is not most bands. They had the chance to make it weirder, and they took it. The chaotic blast beats, palm muted guitars, and shrieking give way and the song returns to that monstrous groove riff, this time topped with an absolutely incredible harmonica solo. It is awesome. This song is awesome. It is legendary. Listen to it.
Oh yeah, there are also two others on the EP. The first is Preacher, Drunken Killer which starts with a super interesting section that sounds like some poor swamp-shack dwelling man strumming a song on a makeshift guitar, before a powerful, atmospheric chord progression and string/vocal melody hit like a brick wall of downright pretty music.
And the final piece is Rubber Band Moan, which is a really dynamic song, opening with yet more banjo and clean vocals before dropping a nuclear warhead of a headbang riff on you along with some of Scott's most evil sounding screams thus far in a Subetroth song. Later that's followed with some of his best clean singing, giving the song a sort of tug-of-war between both melodic and incredibly dark, dissonant moments.
Listen to/get Agnozia on:
IN CONCLUSION:
If I had to pick which release to listen to first, Agnozia is easily the one, both because of the shorter length and slightly higher emphasis on fun factor and experimentation in the song structure over Native Alien. Both are ridiculously good, though, and the standard by which I measure all doom and stoner metal.
Meshuggah are the kings of precise, machine-like, percussive guitars in extremely low tunings, and Subetroth and their equals in the realms of sludge, swagger, and utter sonic mass, with their extensive use of legato creating riffs that almost seem like they're natural, living creatures compared to modern metal's extreme tightness that, at times, can feel somewhat robotic and lifeless. The bass-heavy production also gives their music an unmatched thickness that even the doom and stoner metal greats should be envious of.
Subetroth are awesome. They are legendary. Listen to Subetroth.
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