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KARAVAN
Unholy Mountain

Evil Noise Recordings / Vinyltroll (2023)
Rating: 8/10

Drenched in fuzz, this Norwegian trio delivers its debut full-length album consisting of seven piles of stoned fluff. Heavy, rolling riffs abound as if they were grey clouds gathering for a storm led by the evil, sneering vocal rasps which drag a blackened metal ethos into the brew.

The “stoner” and “doom” elements combine as great thundery wallops as this steaming, contorting behemoth drags its sorry arse up the hillside like an overloaded cosmic caravan creaking due to its heavy, lumbering load. I guess this is tokenistic marijuana-clogged weightiness, something that’s not necessarily my bag but which can be effective if delivered with enough atmosphere and diversity. Such riffs, however heavy, have been repeated through countless weed-laced offerings over the last 20 or so years, but Karavan does have a sense of grit about its arduous grind even if there are shades of the formulaic.

The stoner element is somewhat of a false alarm because for much of this record the sound plays more as a macabre dredging so the songs roll with an ominous fashion but without exploring traditional doom values, although much of the lead axe work does have that classic, vintage feel.

I’m somewhat relieved the album doesn’t feel long – it’s only 44 minutes – and it’s good to hear a more aggressive vocal tone snarling through the fuzz. Best track? Probably ‘Demon Slime’.

Neil Arnold

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