Clagg

Lord of the Deep

Obsidian Records 2011

Sludgy doom riffs boom across my music room likely slowly rolling thunder as the first song on Lord of the Deep gets underway.  Melbourne's doom deathsters Clagg have decided to avoid the standard funeral doom path that so many of their countrymates have explored in favor of a more traditional songwriting approach.  After a hazy beginning of melodic guitar and circular, smoky bass, a wall of crushing riffs collapses upon my ears on Carrion.  Old school-fuzzy leads surface lending a stoner edge to the song while gravelly vocals choke on deathly lyrics.  The tempo builds and a bluesy tone invades the track imbuing a Sabbathy feel to the composition.  Muted bass opens the title track before massive riffs bulldoze their way out of my speakers, throbbing with menace.  The track slows to a Winter-esque crawl and continues to morph and mutilate its way across its nearly 16 minute length.  Ashen riffs of cyclopean magnitude open Buried before hitting with southern stoner accents.  The song mainly dwells in a destructive area with a relentless waves of crushing riffs.  However, The Harvest demonstrates how dark Clagg can get with delicate guitar plucking and mirroring mammoth riff that follows.  A certain Sabbath riff comes to mind whenever I hear this track.  Clean vocals are utilized at first but are eventually replaced by those of deathier inclination when the track shifts into a stomping pattern.  The song reverts back to its origins and the cycle begins anew.  The album closes with a bonus cover of sludge stalwarts, Iron Monkey's Big Loader.  On Lord of the Deep, Clagg take their own approach to sludgy, deathly doom and obliterate the listener with nihilistic visions and gigantic traditional doom riffage, fuzzed out and drenched in ash.