Doomhawk - S/T LP RTR 003
On occasion, I’m fine with bands fucking with expectations, as long as it doesn’t feel like they’re laughing at, or behind the backs, of the listener. It also doesn’t hurt if the band doesn’t come across as masturbatatorial pretentious instead of involved in intrepid songwriting. Doomhawk play long-ass songs (four long ones, one short one on a 33 RPM 12” LP) that genre-skip from circus metal to electronica to disco to orchestral to spoken Speak-n-Spell to ska to industrial to gypsy to Hobbit vs. Orc to Middle Eastern whathaveyou. Granted, it’s not every day or every-type-of-situation music for me, but it’s got a nice heft and grit to it, even in the quieter parts. My depth of knowledge is shallow with this type of stuff, but I’d say fans of Praxis, Smegma, and the “getting right with the earth” magick set would like it instantly. –Todd Taylor (Rumbletowne)