A little Doom, a dash of Sludge, a hint of Stoner and a whole lot of Metal comprise the music of Canada’s Bison B.C. Mixing these influences into a cohesive concoction could have been no easy task, but Bison B.C makes it sound natural…jumping from grooves to melodies to fast to slow tempos has never sounded so good. Longer instrumental sections take on a hypnotic vibe as well. There is a bit of a retro feel to the album, but make no mistake…it’s not “throwback” by any stretch.
Recorded in just 2 weeks time, Quiet Earth is energetic, fresh and full of fire. The guitar work from riffs to melodies to solos is outstanding. The instrumental “Medication” has some great, Trouble-esque guitar harmonies (which can be found in several places on the album) with some explosive riffing akin to Mastodon or maybe Giant Squid’s heavier moments. “Primal Emptiness Of Outer Space” kicks things off in head-banging territory with a big riff on the verse & aggressive, shouted vocals. “Dark Towers” shows a little Thrash Metal influence as well. The epic, two-part monster “Wendigo” (“I: Quest For Fire” and “II: Cursed To Roam”) runs the gamut from a string section intro (reminding me a tad of Believer’s orchestral interludes), bombastic Doom devastation, aggressive up-tempo Metal (with a dash of Punk) and a mind-tripping outro. The mesmerizing title track closes the album perfectly. This is a song meant to be played live. By the time the vocals kick in (over 2 minutes after the song starts), the crowd will no doubt be in a fist-pumping frenzy before inciting a pit-riot like no other.
This record is massive. Heavy through and through, top shelf musicianship and songs that beg for repeated listens. You can’t go wrong with this one.
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Nice, I would have overlooked this if not for your review. Is the B.C. meaning British Columbia?
on Oct 21st, 2008 at 10:18I really don’t know…haha! Possibly…
on Oct 21st, 2008 at 10:25LOVE THIS
on Oct 21st, 2008 at 11:07I think it’s Before Christ, who knows. Anyway, this band rocks.
on Oct 21st, 2008 at 13:43The b.c. stands for British Columbia. It was tacked on when they signed to Metal Blade – after the Middian fiasco, it was a wise move.
Anyway, this band kicks ass, especially live. They sound quite a bit like High on Fire, but there are worse things to be compared to…
on Oct 22nd, 2008 at 07:03I just got the new Black Skies record to review, sounds really similar to what you described. Be curious to compare them before I do the writeup.
on Oct 22nd, 2008 at 14:45