As that first note hits, with the distortion and the reverb sunk so low you feel more than hear it, the wobble in the decay as the speakers are pushed to their limit… As that first note hits, you know we’re getting heavy here. Treedeon have once again produced an album of thunderous, earthquake-inducing doom with New World Hoarder, the kind where vases fall off shelves and innards quiver from the force of the soundwaves emitted.
However, after that initial outburst, the riffs here begin to feel a little unimaginative. The middle sections of New World Hoarder feel like a bunch of ideas that Treedeon need to fully develop. There are some catchy, interesting bits along the way – see ‘Viking Meditation Song’ for a dose of fuzzy funereal fun. Otherwise, it too often falls into bland, monotonous chugging of the instantly forgettable variety.
Worse still are some of the screeched vocals (possibly the screams of bassist and second singer Yvonne Ducksworth), feeling horribly out of place even in this din. Oddly they seem to sit higher in the mix here than Arne Heesch’s lead, exacerbating the somewhat grating and distracting clash this caterwauling has with the music it is supposed to enhance.
Yet Treedeon bring it all together magnificently in the final twelve minute opus ‘Läderlappen’. Shifting up and down through the gears, at its best becoming motorik in pace and intensity, the track locks into an enthralling groove: monstrous guitars, juggernaut drumming, and the deeply unsettling yells of “I hold the key to my own cage” over and over create a near-perfect example of modern doom. This track alone is worth the price of admission, and ensures all lingering thoughts on New World Hoarder are surprisingly positive.
