THE BOTTLE DOOM LAZY BAND "Clans Of The Alphane Moon" 2024

THE BOTTLE DOOM LAZY BAND are no newcomers, in fact, in my opinion, they are one of the pillars of the French DOOM scene, a benchmark in their field, who have been meandering through the underground scene since 2007, working their way up the ranks - their reputation is well established... However, it seemed to me that in 2024, the band announced that they were putting their activities on indefinite hold... and here they are again, the same year, with this new and third album .... posthumous perhaps? I have no further information at the time of writing... wait & see...
Be that as it may, “Clans of the Alphane Moon” delivers 7 new tracks, for a total duration of 70 minutes... after just a few minutes, you can feel that the band remains anchored in its particular universe based on abrasive, grimy, rasping riffs, giving free rein to long, haunting and intoxicating breaks - capable of taking the listener far away with the tempting risk of getting lost - but which, thanks to the very detailed and intelligent drumming, always remain dynamic and captivating!
And then there's that... slamming bass - during incursions here and there in the tracks - which breathes a powerful groove into the songs, reinforcing the already harsh and rigorous guitars... and FINALLY, there's the voice, THAT voice, recognizable among a thousand, husky and haunting, hypnotic with that dramatic, theatrical and incantatory aura... which, in my opinion, sets them apart from a good number of bands evolving in the DOOM register...
And of course, all those soaring, psychedelic touches sprinkled here and there with great care and attention to detail, those underlying melodies, those very rootsy sounds that enrich the band's music with brio, making the whole deliciously addictive...
I've often seen THE BOTTLE DOOM LAZY BAND's name associated with such tenors of the genre as SAINT VITUS, THE OBSESSED or PENTAGRAM, which is of course not wrong, but shouldn't be reductive for those who have never heard the band... They risk missing out on a unique experience - THE BOTTLE DOOM LAZY BAND know where they're coming from musically, but they've forged their own style and seem to be evolving in spheres that have been rarely visited...
On another point, I'd like to give an EXCELLENT mention to the album's artwork, very detailed and menacing, created by French artist Tétar (ex-CHILDREN OF DOOM), halfway between the art of Michel “Away” LANGEVIN (of VOIVOD fame) and that of Philippe DRUILLET... Always a good omen at a time when AI is becoming increasingly invasive...
In conclusion, I'd say that this album, even if it's in the continuity of what the band has done before, still stands out from the rest, thanks to its much more polished production and its assertive ability to create even more pachydermic atmospheres than in the past... Completely complementary to the band's past discography, it nonetheless strikes me as the most accomplished album THE BOTTLE DOOM LAZY BAND have released to date... and for that reason alone, deserves your immediate attention !



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