Release
date: June 09th 2017. Label: Ripple Music. Format:
CD/DD/Vinyl
The
Sunken Djinn – Tracklisting
The Sunken Djinn
Calling From The
Core
The Coldest Night
Blood Vortex
Architect Of Despair
Rapturous
Maelstroem
Members:
Guitar & Vocals - Simon
Drums - Emil
Bass - Jonte
Review
You can never keep a
good band away and that is especially true for Swedish Doomsters -
Vokonis - who are about to release their new second full length album
on Ripple Music. The Sunken Djinn. Coming almost fifteen months after
their celebrated debut album - Olde One Ascending. The Sunken Djinn
is a better-rounded and doomier affair with the previous albums
Stoner sounds giving way to a more psychedelic and sludgier groove.
You can still hear that addictive Vokonis groove first heard on their
debut album. The album has a more intense heavy metal feel with
Vokonis taking influence from classic eighties sounding heavy metal
artists at times.
Opening track - The
Sunken Djinn - has recently been released as seven inch single which
sold out in double quick time. Vokonis have a slight nautical feel to
their music on this song with the music being merged with a deep
nautical influence. The lyrics and vocals are superbly put together
and they have a cool understated feel to them. Though it's the riffs
and Simon's near pitch perfect vocals add a real sense of importance
and urgency to the overall flow of the album.
The opening track sets
the scene for the remainder of the album to follow with songs such as
Calling From The Core, The Coldest Night, Blood Vortex and Architect
Of Despair. The songs run between the four minute to six minute mark
and this allows Vokonis to explore and experiment more with their
more progressive sounds. Especially with the albums psychedelic
sounds as it adds a more world weary feel to the album.
The production is
handled superbly well and that is what you expect from a Ripple
Records release. When have those guys ever released a bad sounding
record. I can't think of any. The Sunken Djinn is a doom metal album
in every sense of the term and this is an album that will no doubt
send Vokonis onto greater things. Vokonis take influence from their
musical heroes and you can hear familiar sounds but Vokonis still
manage to create their own sound.
The band becomes
permanent doom dwellers with the music nightmarish in scope. Sue the
last song - Maelstrom - embraces a less enjoyable dronish aspect but
that doesn't stop Vokonis becoming one of the best upcoming bands
within the Doom Metal world. High praise. Maybe, but Vokonis have
delivered the goods with this album. Fans of Black Sabbath, High On
Fire and Mastodon will find much to admire and riff-worship here.
Vokonis have delivered
not only of the year's best Doom Metal album but perhaps one of the
best albums of the year.
Words
by Steve Howe
Thanks
to Richard at Sheltered Life PR and Vokonis for the promo. The Sunken
Djinn will be available to buy via Ripple Music from June 09th 2017 on CD/DD/Vinyl.
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