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Godhunter: City of dust
19/03/14 || gk
“City of dust” is the debut full length from Tuscon, Arizona’s Godhunter. The band’s debut release, the EP “Wolves” from 2011 was a fun stoner metal outing that was perfect accompaniment to a few beers and some herbal enhancement. 3 years down the line and “City of dust” is a very different beast.
Album opener “Despite all” starts with a spoken word sample from political writer Chris Hedges and sets the mood and tone for the 50 odd minutes to follow. The opening riff on “City of dust” is a fucking monster and shows off the band’s hardcore roots while that fat bottom heavy sound creates a claustrophobic atmosphere. Things are off to a pretty impressive start but it’s a testament to the music on offer that things only get better from here. The 1-2 punch of “Brushfires” and Snake oil dealer is impressive to say the least and a perfect mix of thick sludge riffs, unusual melodies and a measured and well thought out approach. Mid album show stopper Shooting down the sun is all acoustic, sparse and melodic with an impassioned vocal performance and serves as the perfect break between the heavy as fuck sludge that bookends this song. Still, the most impressive part of the album is yet to come. Title song “City of dust” is a drone laden, groove monster while the lengthy Plague widow sounds like a mournful, sludge lament with subtle keyboards in the background and another massive opening riff and is my favourite song on this album. When that cello kicks in on the final few seconds of the song, it brings “City of dust” to a perfect ending.
As far as full length debuts go, “City of dust” is a pretty impressive achievement. The band shows a lot of growth between the “Wolves” EP and now. Godhunter seem to have a never ending supply of killer riffs and they show this right through the album but it’s not just the riffs that make “City of dust” so good. It’s that supremely heavy bass tone, Charlie Touseull’s aggressive and domineering vocal performance and the attention paid to the song writing. There’s a lot of thought given to each and every one of the eight songs here. Whether it’s the riffs (I know I’m repeating myself here but fuck, this is some quality riffage), the subtle, unusual melodies that bring to mind dark Americana folk music or even the excellent backing vocals, Godhunter don’t put a foot wrong on “City of dust”.
Godhunter has managed to craft an album that pretty much stands on its own in a crowded and mostly derivative sub-genre. There isn’t any other band out there at the moment that sounds like Godhunter do. Sure, you could pick apart the influences and list all the usual suspects but “City of dust” is that rare album where the whole is greater than the sum of its influences. Fans of sludge and stoner metal would do well to check this band out. “City of dust” is one impressive achievement and Godhunter is a band to keep an eye on.
- Information
- Released: 2014
- Label: Battlegrund Records/The Compound
- Website: Godhunter Facebook
- Band
- Charlie Touseull: vocals
- David Rodgers: guitars, vocals
- Jake Brazelton: guitars
- Dick Williamson: bass
- Mathew Davis: cello, keyboards
- Andy Kratzenberg: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Despite All
- 02. Rats in the Walls
- 03. Brushfires
- 04. Snake Oil Dealer
- 05. Shooting Down the Sun
- 06. Palace of Thorn
- 07. City of Dust
- 08. Plague Widow
