Try to imagine a band with a more tonally-concise Ozzy Osbourne circa 1972 bellowing out over some of the more gritty, punishing doom metal and therein lay Indiana’s Stone Magnum, a quartet seemingly made for the bar scene but heavy enough to warrant inclusion in any sentence starting with “Modern doom metal…” The debut offers little in the way of triviality and packs more of a wallop in the delivery that combines the best of early Black Sabbath, Blackwater Park and Pentagram.

The sharpness and blatant heaviness of Stone Magnum seems to simply belittle any similar bands vying in vain to capture some of the bandwagon glory of modern-day doom/stoner metal. While I detest that secondary term as an irresponsible relegation to idiocy and leading the masses to assume we’re all drug-ingesting minions, the viability of the term can set in stable surroundings for now.

Rant aside, typical ‘doom’ is offered here in this record in the usual and unusual segments. That is, this might well be some of the slower doom that can weight down your chest and sink your ship of expectations, yet it retains all of the fundamentals the genre was built upon some 40-years ago. “Fallen Priest” offers the best example of what Ozzy might have been had he not been saddled with a powerful, albeit mid-range delivery for his entire career. This is not a knock by any means but more of a casual observation. “Locksmith of Misery” is where the sow and slithering music oozes out underneath one of the ugliest and overwhelming deliveries around in Nick Hernandez, also known from his work in Chicago-based Kommandant. His vocal style is a gruff and throaty yell that is surprisingly tuneful and carries well. One can’t argue with the solidity of this record all over, from the pounding, almost punishing music to the bellowing and commanding voice that literally pulls you inside. This trend carries wonderfully through the entire record.

When doom metal is attempted in the modern day too many bands rely on the tone of the music to carry the weight of the songs; while it is important for the music to employ the very sorrowed and down-tuned atmosphere the forerunners made famous, a vocal from the bowels of despair certainly lends added credibility to the cause. Messiah Marcolin, Patrick Walker, Robert Lowe and even the aforementioned Ozzy (in brief moments) all possessed that certain depressed and withdrawn vocal sound that simply cannot be artificially preserved. You simply feel the emotional tugging of the music or you don’t have it, period. Hernandez has it without breaking a sweat and that helps drive Stone Magnum right up and over the din of mediocrity and banality. He also has moments of channeling some of the more tangible vocals of our genre (David Wayne comes to mind in “Pictures of Your Life”), showcasing his ability to work within his confines comfortably without reserve. He’s a breath of dark, think air, especially in “Rolling Storm”, which is so much of Ozzy during the Bark at the Moon period it’s delightfully sick.

Musically it falls along the same guidelines, but to a differing degree. Any upstart can pick up a guitar, drop tune to C-sharp or a D and hit chords, allowing them to ring for posterity and momentary self-adulation. To play effective doom rock one has to feel it, have been brought up in its nestling arms and swallowed it whole for a good many years. The music of “Grave of Cryptic Sorrows” sounds so much like Dio-era Sabbath, notably “The Sign of the Southern Cross” in feel and opening notes, that I am more than a little impressed. It seems to combine the best of the 80’s Sabbath with some of the finer moments of St. Vitus or Be Forewarned from Pentagram rounding the edges. This is one of the more impressive albums of the young year for me. Its thick and unyielding production finds the smallest pinholes of submission and hammers in the nails for effect and resonance. This is an up-and-comer to watch.

Doom metal, more than most metal music, is an art form to be studied and taken whole if one is so inclined to welcome such a drastic forlorn aura into the heart. Once applied, the filling residue lingers like a fog of frightful uncertainty and Stone Magnum can take you through with little room for regret.

TRACK LISTING

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*Comments:

1.  Fallen Priest
2.  Locksmith of Misery
3.  Savior in Black
4.  Pictures of Your Life
5.  Grave of Cryptic Sorrows
6.  Rolling Storm
7.  Am I Really Insane?

Total playing time:  42:13

Release Date: January 14, 2012
Label: R.I.P. Records

Stone Magnum - Stone Magnum

Reviewer: Chris

February 9, 2012