Toke - Demo (2014)
This two-track demo from North
Carolina's fledgling Toke allows the band to show off their skills in
a way that's quick without cutting down on content. Their
self-titled track is a fine balance between traditional doom and
stoner metal, with some harshness evocative of Cough or EyeHateGod's attitude
once the vocals kick their way into the mix. The drums are on-point,
the guitar does a great job of flipping between hazy feedback and
sharp (for stoner metal, that is) precision, while the bass provides
an almost subliminal foundation.
The second track, “Winter Wizard”,
has kind of a Pentagram-meets-Deep Purple feel to it, with some
snazzy finger-work on the guitar as the song plows itself into a
momentum that builds and builds; for some reason, it was easy to
imagine the band performing this one while on top of a train speeding
over frozen rails. There's some sense of unrelenting force providing
the push behind the bleary-eyed grooves, and both songs have a great
sense of the band plotting out the structures, then adding their own
extra touches to it during the recording process. If this is their
starting point, then Toke seems destined for some major riffage,
legendary albums, and memorable song names.
~ Gabriel
For Fans Of; Cough, Black
Sabbath, Church Of Misery, Olde Growth, Acid King
~
No comments:
Post a Comment