Any time you have a Kraken type creature adorning a metal album cover, you are off to a pretty good start. Mastosaurus is the sophomore release from Belgium's King Hiss, a stoner/doom act that takes influences from some of the best of the genre such as Corrosion of Conformity, Clutch, Alice In Chains, Down, Priestess, Fu Manchu, Red Fang, Mastodon, and Orange Goblin. Not too shabby to draw inspiration from, but in the end you have to back it up with original material that shows your own true colors, and King Hiss easily do that here on this concept album which "portrays the epic adventures of a doomed antihero."
The first thing you notice is that lead vocalist Jan Coudron sounds a lot like late Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley, and his tortured delivery works wonders on dark, beefy, doomy tracks like "Homeland", "Black Sea, Slow Death", "We Live in Shadows", and the crushing "Renegade". There is however a nice mix of flavors here, from upbeat, groove laden stoner rockers such as "Tourniquet", "Stuck in a Hole", and the energetic title track all the way to catchy fare like "Egomaniac" and "Killer Hand". Heavy riffs can be found every step of the way, which is just what you want from an album like this, and overall you get a sense that this is a band that very quickly could be on the verge of greatness. Definitely an album to check out and a band to keep a close eye on.
Track Listing
- Homeland
- Tourniquet
- Black Sea, Slow Death
- We Live In Shadows
- Mastosaurus
- Stuck In A Hole
- Egomaniac
- Renegade
- Killer Hand
- Requiem For The Lost
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
