Album Review: Deathcave - Smoking Mountain
Reviewed by Paul Hutchings
Formed in 2018, Seattle Doom/Sludge trio’s debut Smoking Mountain shakes the foundations from the opening riffs of the first track, ‘Deathcave’. Apparently named after the Apache death cave in Arizona, the band comprises a veteran trio of Freiburger (Throne of Bone, Brain Scraper), Benny Koslosky (Swampyheavy), and Tony Muñoz (Razorhoof, Worship). It would be unfair to stick a label on the band as although the Sludge and Doom elements of their work do stand at the forefront of their music, there is a much more compelling fusion of thrash, psychedelic, stoner thrown into the mix.
The themes and stories within the album are compelling. ‘Smoking Mountain’ revolves around the concept of inevitable death and decay of not only humans, but nature as well. “Just south of Seattle, the Klickitats called Mount St. Helens ‘Louwala-Clough,’ while the Cowlitz tribes called it ‘Lavelatla,'” elaborates bassist/vocalist Freiburger. “These two terms had the exact same meaning: ‘Smoking Mountain.’ This idea is what cemented the name and general theme of the record.”
The five-track offering cascades over 42 minutes, bringing typically lengthy and bone crushing tracks which vary in duration. The shortest, middle track ‘The Road’ is just shy of seven minutes whilst penultimate song ‘The Seer’ is almost double. Alongside these two songs, there is ‘Last Breath’, dedicated to late Black Breath bassist Elijah Nelson. The album also features guest vocals by Andrea Vidal (Holy Grove) on ‘The Seer’, Dave Verellen (Botch, Narrows) on ‘The Road’, and Neil McAdams (Black Breath) on ‘Poison Wizard’.
‘Last Breath’ moves from spine smashing intensity to clean melody, soaring soundscapes and all the while the track maintains the hugeness and suffocating feel that you would expect of such a release. The music is oppressively heavy, smothering whilst at the same allowing the listener to breath. The pendulum swings back and fore, but the album retains a crushing intensity that rarely lets up. ‘The Road’ opens with some of the deepest, stomach rumbling bass I’ve heard in eons, before the band erupts into a maelstrom of musical chaos. If you stick your head in the engine of a 747 jet, this is the sound that you experience. Shades of early Mastodon and Neurosis surface but this is merely a nod to influences that Deathcave have sucked from the wider musical scene.
‘Smoking Mountain’ was recorded by Ben Verellen (Harkonen, Helms Alee) at The Unknown in Anacortes, Washington, mixed by Verellen at Verellen Amplifiers in Seattle, Washington, and mastered by Brad Boatright (Integrity, Full Of Hell, Gatecreeper, High Command) at Audioseige in Portland, Oregon. If you like the combination of Cirith Ungol, Black Sabbath, Mastodon, High on Fire, and slabs of Sleep then you will want to experience the sheer force of Deathcave. A punishing ride, the opportunities for exploration are substantial.
