THE GRAVIATORS - Motherload
Two years ago I was thoroughly convinced by Evil Deeds, the second album by Swedish band The Graviators. Motherload, the third album by the bearded quartet, consequently doesn’t surprise by once again offering high grade classic doom rock as we have gotten used to in the past.
With roots lying deep in the past, and you will notice soon enough that the Graviators are familiar with Black Sabbath and probably also Pentagram. This is already quite a good premise, but the authentic Seventies production makes things even better. The occult component is omnipresent though, and the guitar solo on Narrow Minded Bastards could have come from the blessed fingers of Tony Iommi. And if Eagles Rising would have followed on a Black Sabbath album right after War Pigs, I wouldn’t have been surprised either. Bed Of Bitches is crawling like lava and should convince the last sceptics at the latest when the analogue organ is kicking in. The song are mostly very long, never running under five minutes, generally somewhere between eight and ten minutes, which allows the band a lot of room for improvisation. To prevent any sense of boredom, the doom and occult music is enriched with psychedelic, drone and blues parts. Another highlight is the eleven minute long Lost Lord where they even sound a little like early King Crimson. Add to all of this memorable riffs and a charismatic vocalist, and there is nothing left to prevent a great product.
The Graviators don’t make a secret of their predilections. The cover artwork consisting of a pentagram, skull, horns, smoke,… should be hint enough that this is a first class journey back into the primeval times of occult rock. The Graviators are brimming with talent and ideas, allowing every single track on Motherload to stand out as a highlight in itself.