Kingcrimsonprog
2012’s The Killing Jar is the debut full-length studio album from the exciting British band Black Moth.
Mixing all the best parts of the Doom, Desert, Stoner, Grunge and Fuzz ends of the spectrum, their sound is a brilliant amalgamation of many other bands, and yet always like Black Moth. Sometimes they have a bit of a psychedelic vibe, sometimes they have melodic pop sensibilities and sometimes they lean hard on the riffs and just go really heavy. In writing it may sound like a million other bands, but like Dozer’s later work they have somehow managed to forge a unique identity in a crowded scene.
Basically, if you like any sort of bands like Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Dozer, Electric Wizard, QOTSA, Sleep, Monster Magnet, Goatsnake, Solarized, Sheavy, Baroness, Kylesa, Pentagram, Reverend Bizarre, Clutch, Josh Homme era Arctic Monekys and of course Black Sabbath, then you’ll know the vague direction to expect from Black Moth. If you like a few of them, then you should probably check out Black Moth, they provide a nice twist on that general sound.
Singer Harriet Bevan’s vocals provide a lot of character, mixing the sort of tortured-psychedelic female vocal style from the late 60s with Ozzy’s style and also a healthy bit of 90s Grunge as well. Over the course of the album she covers a lot of ground and like the music, slides between different ends of the same spectrum well, creating a strong whole.
As an album The Killing Jar is strong and consistent, its not overlong, its not too short and the dirty grimy production is perfect for this sort of music. Highlights include the ‘Spit Out Your Teeth,’ which starts off hypnotic and then rides off in an odd direction as well as the beefy ‘The Plague Of Our Age,’ the slow and doomy then catchy/poppy ‘Plastic Blaze’ and also the album closer ‘Honey Lung.’
In summary; If you like this sort of music then Black Moth are an excellent proposition and The Killing Jar is a damn fine debut album; its dirty, its varied and it doesn’t get boring. If you still need convincing, as a test, listen to the song ‘Land Of The Sky’ online, and if it puts a big smile on your face then you’ll know that you should get yourself a copy.