ninehertz

Doom releases respledent with the tropes of weed are ubiquitous on bandcamp or whatever your streaming medium of choice, and there's a strong negative correlation between how far they lean into the aesthetic and its quality. I'll still always give them a quick listen, just in case, but almost as a rule they're gimmicky or sub-par. Only occasionally does a band come along and break that equation. Vape Warlök are one such band.

Preconceptions of their debut, Inhale Death, were that it was going to be silly. It ended up in our Albums of the Year list. All we knew of them was vague or false - the "fact" they were from Greenland a prime example - but they've been a bit more open this time around, led by someone from the under-heralded Circle of Sighs, it also features members of Unida and High Priestess, so there's a decent level of pedigree which goes a long way to explaining everything.

They claim it's music for fans of Electric Wizard, Sons of Otis, Bongzilla and Sleep - and you can't argue with that. But it's heavier than that might suggest - for all the fun being had here, it is pretty dark musically, the creaking growl of the vocals in particular, and the overwhelming intoxicated fug that has you stewing is a dense experience. It sounds demonic throughout - yes the vocals, but also the satisfyingly thick riffs often just on repeat, holding the line to drag you into a lull that is mesmerising.

Songs descend further into darkness as they go so you feel buried by their end, there are moments which are truly unwieldy and elephantine. Only the closing track (Bongmaster General) is what you might expect from them at face value if not heard before, a little cheesy and suffers for it. It's the only lapse of the album - for all they toy with the non-musical tropes, they ply a pure strain of doom and sludge, pushing it to the extremes.

What's their secret then? They're purposefully OTT with the narrative, owning it so they can deflect any cynicism - and then more so, of course, by writing big fucking tunes that can't be denied regardless of your take. It makes that talk and consideration completely secondary, superfluous to the ultimate equation - does it sound good? The answer is a resounding yes.