‘Word To The Wiseman’, the opening track on Desert Storm’s latest full length offering Horizontal Life, sets the tone very well for the following hour – huge, catchy riffs, massive groovy drums, and, as a finishing touch, an overlay of whisky-soaked vocals. To call the song catchy would be an understatement; there really are no words to describe the sheer monstrosity of these riffs!
Desert Storm play a sludgy brand of stoner rock akin to Clutch, or Deliverance-era Corrosion of Conformity – admittedly, it’s not the most original facet of the metal genre, but they occupy it very well. Although the sound of this album is broadly similar to their last, the band have stepped up their game with a superb mix and master by legendary names in the genre.
In terms of songwriting, Desert Storm have also developed hugely, injecting some more-than-welcome variation into their formidable sound. The first half of the album blasts through just over half an hour of familiarly groovy stoner metal, culminating in the insane heaviness of ‘Enslaved In The Icy Tundra’, which I can only describe as a bluesy take on Pantera. Matt Ryan’s vocals rise to an all-out growl, losing all sense of melody in a blind quest for heaviness, which, depending on your point of view is either primitive or glorious. However, over the course of the next track, ‘Lunar Domes’, things begin to take an interesting turn, and Desert Storm introduce the standout track of the album, ‘Titan’, an eleven-minute long groove-fest punctuated by an epically progressive, Floydian jam. For those who enjoy this, ‘Gaia’ presents a second opportunity for the band to experiment, with several acoustic patterns that remind me of some kind of cross between Kyuss in their ‘quieter’ moments, and the classic blues of Robert Johnson and Howlin’ Wolf.
Horizontal Life is an absolutely monstrous album, and as an extension of the sludgy sound exhibited in Desert Storm’s previous work, it is a vicious representation of just how much potential this band has. However, in tracks like ‘Titan’ and ‘Gaia’, I see a far more interesting and original sound evolving that, in my mind, would really excel Desert Storm to ‘the next level’. Either way, this band has the potential to be huge in the metal world.
Horizontal Life is available as a download or CD from blindsightrecords.co.uk/horizontal_life.htm