Kongh – Sole Creation (Agonia Records)
Friday, 12th April 2013
One look at the menacing enormous gorilla looking down upon the remote Swedish countryside tells you most everything you need to know about this release and what you’re going to find within. Highly palatable sludge/doom interlaced with sparse but tangible melody is what carries the day on Sole Creation, chunky riff valleys segueing into melodic peaks. Not a bad way to kick off 2013, truth be told.
Opener “Sole Creation” follows this template to a tee, flowing effortlessly from high to low and every shade in between as it slowly meanders across its ten minute run time. There are only four tracks here on display and each of them exist in a similar fashion, though with surprises sprinkled throughout, such as the bottom completely falling out after the four minute mark on the aforementioned song. “The Portals” is something of a highly because of how outstandingly filthy the bass comes through, like a glorious fecal trail left by the gorilla gracing the cover.
All in all however, the mileage you’ll get with Sole Creation depends upon your affection for the genre. There isn’t a great deal to draw in those who have managed to keep their distance during the post-Mastodon boom, as all the usual staple sounds of the genre are here. For those who do peek in you’ll find four burly pieces that do require time to tease out their various nuances, and it is rewarding to do so. A new year, a new plain of possibility, you could certainly get off to a worse start!
