BEASTMAKER — You Must Sin (review)

BEASTMAKER — You Must Sin album cover EP · 2015 · Traditional Doom Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
siLLy puPPy
BEASTMAKER is a trio from Fresno, CA that makes traditional doom metal in the vein of classic bands like Pentagram, Saint Vitus and Trouble as well as old school Black Sabbath and takes it all back to the grarage rock grit with a stoner vibe along with the luxury of 21st century production techniques. The band consists of Trevor William (guitars / vocals), Andy “Juan Bonham” Saldate (drums) and John Tucker (bass) and despite not being the most prolific band of full-length albums since their circa 2015 formation, the band has however been cranking out EPs like there’s no tomorrow with 10 coming out in 2018 alone,

YOU MUST SIN is the first EP, first release and overall a declaration of intent actually that announced the band was joining the ranks of the greater doom metal world and aligning their energies with the pioneers who have steered the genre into the modern era. Armed with an amateurish looseness as not to take themselves too seriously, this debut of five tracks finds the prevailing methodology of cranking out heavy distorted bluesy riffs that chug along at mid-tempo with the occasional more hefty tempo changes along with psychedelic solos that dissipate into the sonicsphere like a waft of bong smoke in a college dorm.

With an effect of wind sounds and cathedral bells leading the way, BEASTMAKER finds itself surfing familiar territory with the chugging riffs resembling the aforementioned influences almost to a T which along with Church’s dead ringer Ozzy-isms finds the whole affair a tad too traditional for my liking. With lyrics of Pagan mysticism poised in poetic perfection, the storylines fueled by the hazy fuzz of the guitar and bass find the band as masters of mimic and in the end too little originality to really take seriously. BEASTMAKER is amongst a new breed of stoner induced traditional doom metal bands that seems to think that just going through the motions is enough and judging by the popularity of one of metal’s least technically adept sub-genres it very well could pay off in the commercial aspects.

Overtly derivative and staunchly unwilling to experiment YOU MUST SIN sadly marks this beast with the sense of complacency that hasn’t deviated significantly through its massive run of recent EPs. Ultimately BEASTMAKER is a band too steeped in its influences and past glories albeit dressed in the modern era’s clothing with an excellent production and mixing job. While i guess the point is for a fuzzed out trad doom metal band to stick to the playbook, ultimately i just find such ceaseless attempts to replicate the past to feel hollow and unsatisfying. While doom metal is hardly the only guilty party in this attempt to cash in on the past, it sure seems to have a larger roster of characters than most attempting to do so with BEASTMAKER clearly existing in that very camp.
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