Album Review: Froglord - Metamorphosis
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
Froglord are one of those bands who’ve been on my radar for a while, as I’ve been impressed with their approach to the stoner/doom/sludge genre, as it’s wrapped up in the theme of a giant amphibious god. I mean, what’s not to love about that, right?
With Froglord himself hailing from some murky swamp in a dark, ancient woodland, they all met in Bristol, and its where they have produced some seriously good music over the last 5 years, culminating in the release of the fifth instalment of The Tale of the Froglord. It follows Herman The Man, as he embarks on a journey from deep inside an ancient forest to complete his “Metamorphosis” and become The Toad.
As concepts go, it’s certainly an interesting one, with Luke Clemenger on bass leading from the front on opening track “Collision” before Benjamin Oak on vocal takes over and completely owns the song. The guitars from Jordan Cross are hypnotic, no frills, but hitting that sweet spot time and time again. It’s a heavy beginning that bodes well for the rest of the album. A gentle start to “Follow The Star” sees drummer Chris Seldon caressing the cymbals, as he ushers in another crushing bass and guitar section. The tempo changes work well, as Froglord sings “is this the end of humanity”.
“Herman” is the song that I enjoy the most, as it’s got the added harmonica, which gives more of that Louisiana, red neck swamp feel to another strong song from the foursome. With words such as “Day of annihilate, another world awaits” it gives room for the impressive rhythm section to glow in the murky waters and allows the guitar sound to just flow, highlighted in the start of “The Swamp”. The thumping drums are high in the mix, but it allows the solos to prosper, whilst that shuddering bass sound is pure gold to my ears.
The fifth song is called “Cryptids” and initially deviates from their strong formula, but it soon comes to life with face melting fuzz and it’s another that will light up live shows. They have a few more surprise elements embedded that are a bit strange, yet they somehow work in the overall context of the song. It’s back to their pulsating best on “Mutation” with that sludge/swamp style riff flowing effortlessly, allowing Froglord to show variety in his vocal style.
With two songs left, “Emergence of the Toad” is a bruiser of a track that gets the head properly banging, in that slow, sludge style. The pace is just right, and for a song nearly 8 minutes in length, it doesn’t feel that long and with a croaking sound ringing in your ears, a mysterious voice delivers the final message. They end with a cover of Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion” although The Mighty Mighty Bosstones version is far superior to the original in my humble opinion. They give it a sludge makeover, and it works well as you’d hardly recognise the song.
This is one album that will gets lots of airplay, as the sludgy grooves combine well with a monstrous bass sound to produce wondrous psychedelic doom, that allows Froglord’s amphibious reign of terror on the public to spawn.
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