Wizards and witches seem to have a cardinal significance within the stoner and doom scene. Merlin the wizard is a well-known figure within the fiction literature. In 2014, Merlin released their first full length entitled Christ Killer to a high appraisal amongst a smaller group of illuminated hardcore stoner doomers. One can only wonder why more people haven’t picked up on this band yet, but perhaps it could partly be due to the fact that Merlin is harder to put to frame as yet another Kyuss, Sleep or Pentagram clone imitating the aesthetics within the genres. Well that is a shame, because once you invest in the wizards twisted sorcery you I’ll find yourself blessed with a dark and psychedelic universe of “not-so-standard” stoner doom rock with strong, melodic and at times chant-like vocals. Fuzzy heavy riffs, pummeling, yet playful drumming, with song structures that switches between insisting grooves and slower psyched out passages leaving enough room for the monsters to crawl out under your bed and sink their fangs in. First track, ‘Bad Trip’, is a short trailblazer that after a short intro and build-up of march-like drumming and swirling guitars sets off into outer space on a short but effective race around a dark moon. An über doomy version of Hawkwind or The Cosmic Dead immediately springs to mind. Next up is the title track that despite a running time at 5+ minutes still is, after Merlin standards, a fairly short affair. It alternates between faster paced space doom and slower groovy passages that gives the song a cool interaction that works really well. On the album’s third track the pace is lowered even further and resembles more the imprint Merlin left on Christ Killer. This is one of the standout tracks on the album, and I’m impressed with how much gloom and atmosphere Merlin is able to pack into their songs. ‘Will ‘o The Wisp’ is probably how a slowed down Acidic Uncle would present himself when stalking around your house hunting you down for the inevitable decapitation. This is the perfect horror movie soundtrack and I might be mistaken but somehow I think this is exactly what Merlin set out to achieve on Electric Children. Next up in the wizard’s melting pot is ‘Warbringer’ where Merlin lends more towards a Spirit Caravan/Pentagram inspired riffing and driving rhythms. A solid stoner doom track with some cool and varied vocals, where Jordan Knorr show a little more bite and a slight anger in his tone, almost bordering insanity as he wails “Losing faith, losing life, lose your fortune, lose your mind. “My life, my soul, I think I lost them all”. Another short intermission ‘Julia Reprise’ sets the scene for what is next and nothing could have prepared you for the adventures that lie ahead on this album’s grand finale. Tales of the Wasteland is an epic 23 minute journey through murky and mysterious landscapes where evil lurks around every next bend in the notes. With this song, Merlin really stretches out and covers vast musical ground and the scope at stake here makes me think of a psych doom mutation of Pink Floyd's Animals album. And this is not a bad thing, trust me. I dare any proclaimed fan of doom, psych and stoner with a craving for the occult to enter this dismal world of Merlin and take a dance of the death with his Electric Children. Electric Children is an electrifying concoction of sinister riffage circulating like hell in orbit around a demented planet overgrown with magic mushrooms. 1. Bad Trip - 0:00 2. Electric Children - 2:58 3. Will ‘o The Wisp - 8:55 4. Interlude - 15:09 5. Night Creep - 17:30 6. Warbringer - 21:12 7. A Reprisal For Julia - 26:32 8. Tales Of The Wasteland - 28:09 Support Merlin by purchasing the album here ~ https://merlin666.bandcamp.com/ Merlin Facebook Page ~ https://www.facebook.com/MERLIN666/?f... Support the continued funding of this channel, become a Patreon https://www.patreon.com/MeadowOfDoom Check out Stoned Meadow Of Doom 2 for more excellent full albums! - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkqjcQwTNvsxQWT44N6ESrA

• published: 15 Mar 2016
• views: 45018