Toner Low
Toner Low (CD/LP) 2005 Roadkill Rekordz / Freebird
Together since 1998 when they were a three-guitar killer riffing machine, The Netherland's Toner Low is now a stoner/doom power trio. They're happiest when they're grabbing your retinas by the ganglia and shaking them in slo-mo until your vision explodes in tracers and hallucinations of all types. With tracks averaging over seven minutes and a musical frequency wall ranging from delicious fuzz to crashing subsonics, they're well equipped to do it. So lie back, take your medicine, and submit. The cardboard packaging may make you think you're in for a mellow orange sunshine trip, but the weird song titles tell a truer tale. 'Evil machinery on the rise' is a cameo of what Toner Low is all about: heavy riffage and treated vocals, a repetitive wall of distortion, and a vibe like High on Fire goes science fiction. There's just enough interest in the repetition to make you listen for more, and there's a strong feeling that this would come off quite well live, especially with a light show and a few smoke machines... 'Devilbots designed to assimilate' has a more plodding, droning, lurching doom vibe with lots of building tension, while 'Into the sunn of Nymrod' is about floating through sinister atmospheres of dark lysergic vision. The 14+ epic closer, 'We Will Conquer', is truth in advertising, with a devil's stew of riffs, space rock, melodic wordless vocals a la Boz on King Crimson's 'Islands', psychedelic guitar distortion, and a synth wash freakout. Whew! This is the kind of music that Stoned Innocent Frankenstein (Daevid Allen, anyone?) listens to in his garrett apartment in A'Dam while imbibing a Seconal/mushroom cocktail and re-reading his copy of 'Helter Skelter'. It's definitely for those favoring the more relentless side of heavy psychedelia and is likely to find adherents among lovers of the aforementioned HOF, Ocean Chief, OM, or Mountain Maker. Just stay away from the brown acid. Reviewed by: Kevin McHugh This first full length release by Dutch stoomsters Toner Low is a bullseye (or 'onehundredaneighty'?) when it comes to spaced out doom. Six tracks with an avarage length of over seven minutes make for a highly satisfying listen for those who favor the psyched-out side of the musical spectrum. Bad news for those who thought the band had anything to do with status report of you local laser printer or xerox machine, as the band name most definately refers to the sound. On the other hand, the link with machines is not so far-fetched, as can be seen from the songtitles of the first two songs, 'Evil machinery on the rise' and 'Devilbots designed to assimilate'. The machinery also pops up in the form of little samples and severely distorted vocals here and there. While never straying far from the path of heavy-riffed stoner doom, these six tracks offer a lot of diversity in terms of sound, vocals and composition. Mellower parts are also included; check out 'Through endless fields...' and 'Into the sunn of Nymrod', which might be described as psychedelic guitar ambient. All of it is poured over with a thick, murky production, as befits music of this kind. Toner Low proves to be one of the more promising bands to come out of the Netherlands recently, and this debut is an excellent album within the subgenre. Everyone into stoner doom should check these guys out. Reviewed by: Oscar Strik	1. Evil machinery on the rise 2. Devilbots designed to assimilate 3. Through endless fields of waving grass we battle 4. Praying for Murphy's law to arise 5. Into the sunn of Nymrod 6. We will conquer Approx. 46 minutes