### Sigiriya: Return to earth

#### 23/01/12 || gk

Back in the mid 90’s, a British band, Acrimony released one of the finest stoner rock records of all time in “Tumuli Shroomaroom.” The band followed it up with a couple of splits and then called it a day in 2001. Now, a good decade later, 4 of the 5 original members of Acrimony are back with a new band Sigiriya and “Return to Earth” is their debut album.

Right from album opener, the supremely catchy “The Mountain Goat” its apparent that things are a bit different. A whole decade has passed since the demise of Acrimony and i suppose a change in sound is only natural. What we have here is heavy, groovy stoner metal. The psychedelic excesses of Acrimony is almost completely abandoned and the band has focused on writing songs that are to the point, filled with thick fat grooves and very memorable. I’d pick out a bunch of stand out tracks but honestly, given enough time, every song on “Return to Earth” has the potential to get stuck in your head for days. The band mix and match influences from Sabbath, desert rock, the classic sound of 70’s hard rock and heavy metal to craft 7 songs that are greater than the sum of its influences.

Guitarist Stuart O’Hara pulls out riffs that are incredibly catchy like its no big deal at all and the drumming and bass playing complements these riffs perfectly. Paul Bidmead’s bass playing in particular is thick and rumbly giving the riffs some solid backing and laying down a strong rhythm with drummer Darren Ivey when O’Hara takes off to solo or branches out in a melody. Vocalist Dorian Walters seems to have actually improved on his range in the intervening decade and while his voice still sounds like rough and grungy he hits some very cool high notes and has a definite character that’s all his own.

Sigiriya has managed to release a very good debut album. They’ve left behind the legacy of Acrimony, written 7 great songs and things look pretty bright for the future. Just about anyone into heavy rock should like this album. Making a stoner metal album like this without sounding overly derivative is a tough business but Sigiriya has succeeded and “Return to Earth” is pretty fucking great.

- Information
- Released: 2011
- Label: The Church Within Records
- Website: Sigiriya MySpace
- Band
- Dorian Walters: vocals
- Stuart O’Hara: guitars
- Paul Bidmead: bass
- Darren Ivey: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. The Mountain Goat
- 02. Tobacco Sunrise
- 03. Hurricane
- 04. Whiskey Song
- 05. Dark Fires
- 06. Robot Funeral
- 07. Deathtrip to Eryri