The band name gives it away. Fuzz-laden heavy doom is what Blacklab purvey. This is the second release from the so-called Dark Witch Doom duo from Japan.
Off we go into “Insanity”. The vibe is totally dark and heavy. It would be like Black Sabbath but the vocals come from a female. In fact, that languid drawn out style that you would associate with Ozzy is here, so it’s not that dissimilar. Occasionally there are growls but it’s the ponderous weight which is most dominant. It reaches fever pitch by the end. After a brief spooky and haunting intro, “Fade and Melt” plunges into the fuzzy depths. The vocalist sounds deranged, contrasting through her higher range chants with the wall of noise. “Weed Dream” has more drive to it. The singer’s voice wavers. It’s not the most harmonious but then this is as far away from a nice sunny day as it could be. The piercing scream enters as the axe work goes on. I liked “Weed Dream” – it has a lot of character and energy. There’s always the hint of a throwback to the psychedelic 70s, and it’s very much in evidence on the doom laden “Amusement Park of Terror” as the instrumental ride goes anarchic.
While retaining its stoner identity, “Forked Road” has an element of rock n roll about it until it descends into unfathomable depths and feedback. The vocals are having a job keeping up as usual. Heavy as a stodgy pudding, “Chained” is the latest piece to put us through our paces. The riff is solider than solid. Blacklab don’t generally do piffle like solos but there is a short one here. They also manage breaks well, deviating into different black alleys here and there. I could swear that “Sleepless Night” has more than a hint of Gothic about it. I think it’s that lingering intrusive vocal at work. The core sound doesn’t alter much save some subtle tempo changes and ultra-heavy sections such as we hear on “Sun”. The vocalist stands in this heavyweight scene and sounds mournful. It’s one last punishing and powerful attempt to drive us into the ground. The growls are very impressive. Fittingly it all ends in a fuzz storm. I don’t know where the sun went but it ain’t here.
There’s a strong element of nostalgia in all this stoner doom. There’s no doubt that Blacklab are being true to themselves with “Abyss”. They might wish to consider renaming themselves as Black Slab.
(7/10 Andrew Doherty)
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