THE FLIGHT AFTER THE FALL

I have been rather obsessively following new releases this year including stalking all the metal sites. I've also gotten more into the heavy psych / stoner metal side of things lately. So among the many random albums that have come across those lists was Witch Ripper (a bit of an unfortunate name if you ask me) and their album THE FLIGHT AFTER THE FALL. A sampling of the promo lead single "Enter the Void" and its trippy video gives the listener a perfect idea of the band's sound. Combining Mastodon and Baroness at their (for me) approx. 2010 peak and adding more psych, this album is exactly the kind of music that delights my ears.

This is a guitar-heavy, multi-textured affair, with every song longer than 7 minutes and a 16+ minute epic. There are two main vocal textures, one harsh and one melodic (very much a la Mastodon). Like a lot of heavy psych rock, the tones are more traditional and there is a bit of looseness that makes the music feel like a band rather than a computer composition. i.e. This is NOT djent. The riffs have a good deal of variety, and the band covers a good range of moods from dreamier sections to aggressive and angry to frustrated and crazed.

The "prog" aspects are not at all in your face, but as the album progresses, the degree of planned composition involved in these songs becomes obvious. There is a LOT going on here, and the band does a great job of making sure the parts relate to each other and build. Whereas some metal bands simply stack cool riffs, this band is thinking about songs. The way the guitars intertwine during instrumental sections is great, and the through it all the band grooves.

The biggest criticism might be that the band leans a little too much on the Mastodon and Baroness influences. However, those older bands have moved in other directions and I don't know of anyone else making this kind of heavy stoner prog right now. Maybe Elder. And because I love all of those bands, I'm not going to knock these guys for it.

This has pushed some other very good bands off the pedestal for album of the year for me one quarter in. I've given it a good month and it still holds up very well. So I'm going to give the 5 stars.

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