Source: Official Album Artwork
TWO by Swedish stoner (we won’t tell if you won’t) /doom rock outfit Kaross was originally released non-globally in late 2013. So why are we reviewing it now, you may ask? The band fell into some disputes with their label but, after a few years of arguing and re-negotiating, have won back the rights to the album, and are re-releasing it on the global market, prior to their third album being released later this year.
First thing’s first, this album is very metal. Although it’s not actually that heavy, the stoner and doom influences, particularly in the guitar playing, make the album feel much darker. Take for instance the title track; the riffs are just sludgy enough, and produced with such a natural tone, that it feels more DIY stoner metal than it does polished hard rock. This band has more in common with Clutch and Corrosion Of Conformity than it does AC/DC.
Although this album is actually a great one to chill out to – one to listen to when you want something reasonably heavy but not overbearingly powerful or intense – it gains a lot more if you turn it up to a higher volume. No, really, go and listen to the first single ‘Borderline‘ twice, once at a normal volume, and once at double that. We’ll wait.
See? So much better isn’t it. Okay, so most rock and metal can be said to sound better if you listen to it louder, such is the price to pay listening to music borne out of genuine emotion and passion, but very few other tracks could be said to sound so much better played at a louder volume, and lose so much when played quieter.
This album is still far from perfect. The riffs are fairly simplistic (in a stoner/doom influenced band? Shocker!) and the vocals sound like they were recorded in a toolshed in 1991 – but it’s the songs as a whole that win you over. Each one is a four minute chunk of basic riffing, done well because there are no frills to confuse it all, and catchy vocal melodies. The drums pound through each song like an elephant’s footsteps, and the rare moments of technical flair on the lead guitar just go to show that they can play technically well – they just choose to write simple riffs because they sound fucking good.
