Review: Stargo ‘Dammbruch’
Stargo have been churning out psychedelic stoner doom since 2008, and their combination of raw power and hazy, cosmic freakouts have always been something to behold. Dammbruch is their newest release and they’ve decided to go all instrumental for this work, which sounds like it could be a fun experiment. I first experienced them on 2020s Parasight, and Kyuss knows, these guys can play! Released independently, Dammbruch is out now and available on Bandcamp.
The title track is our opener, building with a nice Tool-like guitar melody before the fuzz drenched doom riffs kick in with a vengeance. Stargo are here to give you all of their sound, from that smooth psychedelic to a chunky, bluesy groove, there are even some blastbeats in there too. It is a tour de force, curling back and around itself like an ouroboros of smouldering joints, cosmic galaxies, and earth shuddering riffs. There’s a ferocity that you wouldn’t normally expect to see in this world of chilled out vibes, and I really like that it even manages to slide in those vibes just at the end too.
It is a tour de force, curling back and around itself like an ouroboros of smouldering joints, cosmic galaxies, and earth shuddering riffs…
Copter is a hypnotic stoner rock anthem, with a nice doomy low end and then it begins to change, morphing in that desert haze into something more open and spacious. It flows beautifully into closer Bathysphere, that lures you in with the cool evening clean guitar, before giving it some hard rocking power and really laying it in. It feels really fresh and interesting, as well as insisting you bang your goddamn head to it. When that starts to dissipate into the night sky, building atmosphere around some really evocative soloing and a sense of rising into that cosmic black, it is a thing of rare beauty.
Normally with instrumental records, I have time to spend fitting my own narrative in my head to the music, telling your own story sort of thing. With Stargo, that isn’t needed. The story is there in front of you, it is the tale of Dammbruch and a band showing you that it isn’t necessarily the words that draw you in, it is memorable music of high quality. A surprisingly evocative and atmospheric stoner doom record, an achievement in and of itself, and something to enjoy repeatedly over the next few months with clear skies and warm starlight.
Label: Independent
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Scribed by: Sandy Williamson
