Snow Burial | website | facebook | twitter | bandcamp |
Released on February 1, 2016 via Independent
I chuckled when I saw this Chicago band cheekily tag themselves as “hipster doom” on their Bandcamp page. I suppose the kvlt kids will dismiss them with as much disdain as they do “hipster black metal” bands like Deafheaven — and that’s a shame. But if the definition of “hipster” in this context is taking a well-worn genre on the verge of becoming a victim of its own inertia and injecting all manner of other influences to produce something new a vibrant, then Snow Burial can certainly wear the hipster label as a badge of honor.
In actual fact, Victory In Ruin has very little to do with doom. And while they cram all sorts of elements into an ostensibly metal framework, they somehow manage to remain remarkably coherent. Whether they’re navigating slippery post-rock territory a la Neurosis, whacky garbled math-rock channeling Aand So I Watch You From Afar, or grinding noise rock like the iconoclastic Kowloon Walled City, they end up grinding the lips and assholes into one delicious Chicago-flavored sausage.
Occasionally, when the vocals take a turn towards the plaintive, they recall bands like Kylesa or Baroness. While I’m generally not a fan of the pretty/clean vocal style, vocalist Ben Bowman generally errs on the side of gruffness, often sliding into a bit of grittiness at the end of his phrases.
The technicality and vision presented on this début make it eminently worth your time especially if any of the above touchstones have piqued your interest.
