Iron Hearse

S/T

Gallipoli Records 2006

The UK's Iron Hearse bash out a laid back brand of Doomy Stoner Rock reminiscent of the more rock oriented songs of the original masters such as Black Sabbath and Pentagram.  These guys incorporate some bluesy influences into the the music and push the rock side of their music further than a lot of their contemporaries so while it appeals to the standard doom rock fan it also has the potential to gain a wider fan base by not drowning the songs in drone or unnecessary heaviness and pseudo seriousness.  Gorgon's Kiss starts off with a tremendous uptempo Sabbathy riff that just rocks everything in this world.  But I must say that the album opener Rocktopus is by far the best song on the album and sets the tone for every track that follows with its thick and heavy as hell riffing and monolithic drum fills.  This could be a double edged sword to open with the best track because then there is no place to go but down in the quality of the music but I assure you that the separation is only a matter of degrees and if you just let the music take control you will easily forget this small flaw and rock out as if you were a doom rocker in a 70s fog of pot snoke and thunderous riffs.  Iron Hearse is for serious fans of the early days of stoner rock by the old school originators.  Yes these guys avoid all the trappings and pretentiousness that engulfs so many of their peers.  They still realize that this music is for fun and take full advantage of this arcane knowledge and craft their songs accordingly.  Sit back with some dope and and drift away in the smoky haze.