Old Smoke makes me think of Texas barbeques. Right country, wrong place. Progressive metal band Barishi are from New England. The band’s 2016 album “Blood from the Lion’s Mouth” was impressive and made my top 20 for the year on account of its rich range of sounds. “Old Smoke” is the follow-up and the band’s third album release.
This is another accomplished work. A hypnotic riff line sits on a growly and patient bass layer. It’s death metal but the twists and turns, amplified by the occasional whistling wind, add that progressive element to “The Silent Circle”. The vocals effects add a level of evil. The air clears a little and we are left to enjoy the sophisticated pattern of this heavy and atmospheric track. My word. These guys mean business. It doesn’t end there, as the dark swathes of “Blood Aurora” are thrust across our bows. The vocalist is like the god of hellfire (no, not that one from 1968, fellow oldies) while again the instrumental fire is intense and hypnotic. I like the way it stays with us, and we can drown in the heaviness. It is frustrating when bands capture our attention and absorb us momentarily before feeling the need to divert us elsewhere. Barishi don’t do this. We get full value out of the heavy death metal punishment with its subtle twists and nuances. It is relentless. A sampled statement opens “The Longhunter” but any thought that we might be entering new territory is dispelled as we are quickly exposed to more chunky, withering instrumental work, and an echoing growler. Of what we’d had so far, this impressed me least as it did not develop so much. A dreamy little windswept piece gives us a breather, before “Entombed in Gold Forever” lays another twisty assault on us with its dark and sinister patterns. As Barishi once again play with sound, we are gripped right to its frenetic end. The 13-minute title track ends the album. It starts acoustically with a haunting vocal, but as ever there is a hypnotising rhythm to it. The dreamy and now calm rhythm hangs over us like a fog, from which we break out and take different luxurious directions. “Old Smoke” is like going on an exotic journey that I’d want to take over and over again.
To say that this album is solid as a rock might make it sound bland, but I assure you it’s not like that. The groove lines live up to the advertised claims of being “earth shattering”. I found myself happily drifting away, absorbed by the heavy and subtle rhythmic patterns. Barishi are a talented band. “Old Smoke” is a fine album.
(8.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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