| Launch Orbit Land Repeat (CD) | 2002 | No Label |
In the meantime, Galactus 77 has been forging their own unique blend of doom, crust, and stoner up there in the wilds of Canada. They've been doing their homework, because it sounds like an angry blend of Clutch, Eyehategood, Electric Wizard, Unsane, southern stoner, and grindcore in general. Phew! Don't ask me how, but it works unsanely (heh heh) well, and it gets better with repeat listens. The intro tune, 'Barbed Wire Halo,' starts off uptempo before hitting one of the record's many rhythmic changeups, allowing waves of doomy sludge to wash out of the speakers, centered on Jason McAllister's rather tasty guitar harmonies. I particularly like 'Lady Green,' with its more laid-back southern stoner feel. 'Solarnaut' kicks in with some great psych backwards drums before bringing on the doomy sludge, and 'Slaves of Neptune' has some hard-to-resist cool descending riffage going on.
Throughout the disc, vocalist Dan Hodgson sounds like a razor blade gargling mixture of Alabama Thunderpussy's Johnny Throckmorton and Neil Fallon from Clutch, pushed through a grind filter, with a dash of later Church of Misery and Electric Wizard thrown in. Shaun Crawford's bass is in-there tight, with a tone above reproach, and Chris Crawford's drums. Man, that guy's got the human octopus thing going. I get a fearful feeling that these guys are not to be missed live.
Galactus 77 has been working overtime out there on the stoner/doom frontier. Show 'em some love by dropping them a line and ordering up something different for your collection. In the meantime, somebody please sign these guys. Game Two? Relapse? Got your 3rd eyes open??
Band Contact:
GALACTUS &&
12 Murray Avenue
Sussex, New Brunswick
E4E 1J3
CANADA
Astralmisery@yahoo.ca
1. Barbed Wire Halo
2. Lady Green
3. Solarnaut
4. Seventy Seven
5. Slaves of Neptune
6. Locust Noose
7. Cylon Rising
Approx. 26 minutes
| Empire of the Eye (CD) | 2004 | No Label |
I think the group got their name from a comic book villain first found in Fantastic Four #48. And yes, ole' Galactus can be found in issue...uh..77 as well. Before we go any further, I need to call out the artwork on this bad boy, courtesy of Italian stoner god/artists Malleus. It features Galactus-related artwork, and the colours are nothing short of gorgeous; their best work since the M-Squad cover. Galactus 77's music might best be characterized as jointcore or progressive sludge. Jason and Shaun's guitar/bass work is drenched in heaviness and fuzz, tight as a penny in a miser's clawed grip. In a sense Chris' percussive drum attack leads the group, with fills galore and a sharp cymbal attack. Dangerous Dan Hodgson's vocals never stop shredding; it makes you wonder if the guy still has a speaking voice by the time an album is finished. The music is heavy of course, but full of rhythmic change-ups, beautiful guitar tone, pounding drums, and elements of psychedelia and heavy doom. This tuneage is not for the squeamish: lovers of Entombed, Church of Misery, Cuda, early Clutch, Artimus Pyledriver, and Weedeater will deem this an essential purchase.
For reasons best known to themselves, the many worthy labels in our community have yet to sign Galactus 77. With their finely crafted music and splurge on the album art, the group have demonstrated that they care about their music and the detail that goes with it. Give these recalcitrant labels the back of your hand and show everyone that you're on the cutting edge of doomy sludge by ordering up from these fine gentlemen at the above-referenced site. After that, all you'll need is some "Jim Beam and good green."
1. Empire of the Eye
2. I, Mastodon
3. Liquid Scratches
4. Greenbone
5. Year of the Salamander
6. Gramman
7. Maybe We Knew
Approx. 32 minutes