BLACK HELL OIL - Choke on This
Self Released
When I review stuff it's from things that come to me via email. Every once in a while some band or artist will contact me through the SFM666 Facebook page. Why, I'll never know? So I got a message from the drummer of this band asking if I've checked them out. Some confusion on my part ensued but the end result was basically he wanted me to review his band's full length release.
Continuing on I find out they're a sludge metal band from Canada moreover Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Hey if you come from a place called Saskatoon ya gotta be cool. Next, the guy mentioned that they played the 420 Fest in Calgary. Now I deal with a PR guy from Canada and I swear that I saw him mention that festival in an email once. So with all of that my interest was peaked and I pushed this release to the forefront to check out. I'm damm glad I did.
BLACK HELL OIL are not your typical sludge du jour. I know these days that explanation has become somewhat of a cliche. But in this band's case it fits. There's a cut on here, "Should Have Known", which reminds me of the 1990s punk fuckin rock & roll sound of The DIDJITS. There's a couple of other cuts on here that just scream BUDGIE. Yeah the irony of me comparing this band, a three piece, to old school three piece acts did not escape me.
Of course the obvious genre staples are in place to a degree. The Sabbathian touches of "Searching" or the basic riff to "I Don't Know". Although that latter cut adds some American Southern swagger. "Give It All Away" sounds like something Dickie Peterson of BLUE CHEER could've penned. Obviously BLACK HELL OIL are inspired by past greats and willing to turn it into cool new sounds.
A month ago a friend, after reading a few new reviews I posted, said my writing looks as if I'm getting old, tired and burned out again. I told em, no I'm am tired of hearing the same old thing over and over again. Way too many bands these days are playing it safe for their record companies and not for their own excitement. So hearing this is actually a lot of fun and comforting. It's kinda like meeting the children of old friends who passed on and now they're continuing in their parent's footsteps albeit in their own distinct way. And you know what? That's fuckin cool.
https://blackhelloil.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pg/BlackHellOil/about/?ref=page_internal
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