Doom

Independent Release

Release Date – April 26th 2024

Line Up:

Joshua Murphy – Guitar/Vocals

Jake Stone – Guitar

Brad Bellamy – Bass/Backing Vocals

Ray Bates – Drums

Tracklist:

1 – Asunder

2 – Serpentine Sisters

3 – Solve Et Coagula

Here we go with the second installment from Ohio’s best, Blessed Black. Volume one was released last year and a mighty EP it was too; this follows with the same quality. They don’t waste any time getting into ‘Asunder’ with a massive riff, pounding mid-tempo drums, and a desperate vocal melody. It’s stoner, it’s doom, and it’s heavy, heavy rock with some blinding axework from Jake Stone. It’s a gentle start for ‘Serpentine Sisters’, but they soon step on the gain pedals and the power chords come crashing in with a subtle organ weaving through the heft.

Singer/Guitarist Joshua Murphy has a powerful, masculine, and soulful voice that rises and falls with the huge grooves, and again Stone shows he has a deft touch; this is stirring stuff. ‘Solve et Coagula’ is another with a slow start that builds, emerging into a rolling beast, simple and heavy with another subtle organ line underneath. Bassman Brad Bellamy leads the way before Stone and Murphy tinker with a twin melody line here and there.

I cannot rate this highly enough. Is it stoner? Is it doom? I suppose you could put it into both camps, but there is so much more to it – the vocal melodies are dark and catchy; the riffs are all there, and the lead breaks are superb, as are the rhythms and grooves that Bellamy and drummer Ray Bates put down. If you’re a fan of Black Sabbath or heavy rock in general, then this is definitely for you. My only criticism would be that it’s only got three tracks, but I suppose that’s me just being greedy wanting more.

Written by: Smudge