Western Australian act King Zog certainly have brought the doom here on their debut self-titled release. Containing an even 10 songs of bone crushing doom metal, King Zog is certainly jam packed with all things relating to the 'riff', courtesy of the two founding members Daniel Durack (who also sings) and Vince Radice. The rest of the King Zog is rounded out by Martin Gonzalez (bass) and Rory Keys (drums), who provide all the heft at the bottom end. Many of these tracks are monstrous homages to the greats like Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Electric Wizard, and Pentagram, especially bruisers "Man-Sized Rotisserie", "Fuck Island", "Look Who's Torkan", and the absolutely crushing "Hexagram". The sheer power of the riffs on "Liz Business" are just a joy, and even the more uptempo tracks such as "Lost at Sea" and "Witchsmoker", both of which have more of a stoner feel, carry some serious riffage. Durack's vocals are clean throughout, with not a growl or snarl present, instead he opts for more of a hypnotic tone, not far removed from the guys in Mastodon with a touch of Ozzy thrown in for good measure. He does a great job of soaring through the psychedelic doomy haze of the lengthy closer "Season in Hell", another standout track here among an album full of highlights.
King Zog have self-released this debut, but I can't imagine this band being unsigned for long. Massive riffs, wah-wah guitar solos, booming rhythms, and intriguing vocals...this is a doom debut from a band that we can surely expect to hear a lot from in the months and years to come.
Track Listing
- Lost At Sea
- Man-Sized Rotisserie
- Fuck Island
- Look Who's Torkan
- Hexagram
- Temple's Temple
- Liz Business
- Bitter Wisdom
- Witchsmoker
- Season In Hell
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