And straight into the barbarity we are flung with 'A Cleaved Head No Longer Plots' - a deadly statement of intent if ever there was one - which displays all of the typical Conan-esque traits. Slow churning riffs, a barrage of bone splintering bass and drums beaten until they bleed! Injecting groove and melody, 'Levitation Hoax' has the type of style that Hawkwind would have shown if they ever progressed into the Doom Metal sphere, as the bands usual bouts of heaviness are given a flighty and soaring ambiance using space age like whooshing and spiralling rhythms. Of course the track is also rife with chugging guitar leads to keep up the constant wall of sheer noise!
A short little blast of rumbling bass, and ferociously churning guitar play, 'Ritual of Anonymity' also heavily features the old school Heavy Metal vocal style of Jon Davis which has by now become so synonymous with Conan. It isn't singing, nor growling, nor even shouting. In truth Jon's vocals have a flavour and texture unique to himself!
If you want Conan at their most gripping, their most groovy and yet also their most intense and heavy, you listen to 'Equilibrium of Mankind'. It oozes rhythm, the bass play and the guitar leads combine in such a satisfying way whilst the rhythmic thud of the drums gives you a sense of physical pleasure. It's an orgasm inducing slab of Doom Metal... with sword fighting! Conan leave the largest piece of the jigsaw until the very end in 'Grief Sequence'. At nearly fifteen minutes in length, this one sees the band bring out the big guns. Their most monolithic riffs, plunging down to smash the surface like an asteroid, droning fuzzed out chords, hell, even some very nicely worked in synth play for added atmosphere. It's a proggy, grungy, sludgy finale that sounds dangerous, mesmerizing and crushing, and just like the rest of the album features superb song writing and nerve wracking brutality. Simply put, it sounds amazing! (Luke Hayhurst)
Click HERE to listen to the mighty CONAN!
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