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| Tekhton - Alluvial (2009) |
The first time I reviewed Tekhton was in 2004, when they were known as Lahar. Back then, their demo reminded me of a doomy version of Motorhead, especially pertaining to Bert's vocals. Now, when it comes to Tekhton, the vocals are still doomy-Lemmy for the most part, but a lot has changed, and grown, since then.
The band has certainly matured, and the music is much more diverse. A lot of it now, reminds me of Neurosis, actually. This is especially true towards the latter, quieter (and oddly song-titled: '011712', and '90' being the 6th and 8th track, respectively) part of the album.
Production values are much better here, as well. The Lahar demo was essentially a one-take, live recording (and still well done, despite, or perhaps because of, this) which created a very raw sound. This is not the case with Tekhton's Alluvial. Everything here is well polished. Of course, it remains heavy, though it is less of a crush, and more of a slow drown. It actually reminds me of a heavier Reverend Bizarre, perhaps with hints of Autopsy, almost as a nod to the old school Death Doom style.
I'm quite impressed by the very disharmonic style here. The song structures don't lend themselves to an easy pattern (I'm actually reminded of early Clutch and Melvins in some ways, especially on songs such as 'Clove Hitch'... but this... this is much heavier.), so you're never sure what's coming next. This is especially true as the album gets mellower, and very, very Neurosis-like, towards the end.
Overall, it's a tough album to get into. It will challenge and confound the listener, but will reward the brave with a cacophonous wall of disjointed Doom misery. Are you ready for Tekhton? ...you'd better be!
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1. Clove Hitch
2. Feed The Crows
3. All Is Glory
4. Auric Revelations
5. Tectonic Mass
6. 011712
7. The Return Of Viracocha
8. 90
Duration: Approx. 57 minutes
Visit the bandlist page for Tekhton
| Reviewed on 26-07-2010 by Matt Zuchowski |
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| Pick of the Month |
Demonia
'Divine Tragedy' |
...What makes Demonia so special is their ability to make music that harmonizes into beautiful melodies without any particularly impressive guitarplay or soloing. It all cumulates into a single holistic aura...
Read the full review here.
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