Being a relative large fan of stoner rock and groups from the Palm Desert scene, it has been a bit of a shame to witness the genre slowly fade. I miss the down-tuned glory days of Kyuss and Dozer. And seriously, when is the next Desert Sessions release coming out? I am aware that there is a decent amount of records still hitting the shelves, however they lack the publicity and touring that such a powerful genre deserves. Although I don't have the authority or full confidence to declare the scene "dead" by any means, it certainly isn't looking too strong. And for that very reason, whenever an anticipated album of a similar caliber is on the horizon, it's difficult not to have high hopes.
So, where do I start with Truckfighters? Fifteen years in and now five albums to prove their worth, the Swedish psychedelic stoner rock act has seen moderate time in the limelight. It's honestly pretty surprising to read that last sentence though. Here I was thinking that the band was still a fresh new pup on the scene, yet LP numero cinco already? Wowzies! I was aware of their decent success with early albums like Gravity X and Phi, but the past two records must've passed me by.
Being five records in, I think it's fitting to expect a mature sound from the group. And for the most part, that standard is somewhat met. The first four minutes of "Calm Before the Storm" is a tranquil and dare I say beautiful build-up. Unfortunately, once the song transitions into the heavy section, all that momentum is lost. A slow rhythm and serene vocals are sloppily blindsided by a distorted groove that feels disconnected to the track's initial direction. The structure to "Hawkshaw" is a tad similar in that there are both low-key and heavy segments represented, however they fail to mesh properly. I think as a whole, that was my main conflict within this album. The hard-hitting and subdued sections are equally powerful, but the relationship between these two realms that Truckfighters dabbles in don't always mix as successfully as I had hoped. It becomes frustrating listening to a few of these tracks because the stoner rock riffs offered work so well before being reduced by the calm bits and vice versa.
On the contrary, there is a subtle trait within this record that I find to be very special and quite possibly a game-changer for the genre. "Gehenna" breaks out these Tool bass grooves and I'm like dang, ok now you have my full attention. "The Contract" also supplies these intricate palm-muted licks reminiscent to Adam Jones. It has likely been hinted at before, but to my knowledge, I've never heard stoner rock infused with progressive rock like this before, so I have to give props to Truckfighters for that. For "The 1," the band takes a Dozer vibe route, which I can dig, but it almost comes too close to imitation. Lastly, the ending to "Storyline" is absolutely gorgeous. One does not assume a psychedelic stoner rock band would do well acoustically, however that conclusive bit was an MTV Unplugged wet dream.
Although I do have my criticisms about the the pacing of the LP, I think there's certainly an enjoyable aura to the material here. The crunchy riffs don't hit as hard and heavy as I'd expect them to, but rather provide a fuzzy framework for the progressive leanings. And for the most part, the band hasn't brought anything overwhelmingly new to the table with V, yet I will say that I have much interest and curiosity in the proggy style elements shown in a few of these tracks. Where Mastodon has been coined 'progressive sludge,' I foresee future albums from Truckfighters to be a more matured continuation of this 'progressive stoner rock.'
Score: 7.5/10
Sponsored Links from Around the Internet
