The Roller, The Roller
Hailing from Austin, TX, The Roller lay down an oppressively heavy blanket of sludge metal. Their self-titled debut album is laiden with huge, doom inspired riffs and rhythms, but is also thickly mired in trudging, psychodelic waste. This dark ride into the mouth of chaos has a desolate and despondent feel, leaving the listener curled in the corner of their room — staring blankly into nothing.
A ferocious vocal delivery makes for a more aggressive take on the genre while distorted riffs dominate the album. Thick bass and methodical drums lay down a heavy foundation of pummeling beats. The album’s overall slower pace is perfect for the band’s caustic sound and rhythms.
Zugunruhe
The opening track starts off slowly with a single chime and distant guitar noise. The track builds with increased volume and musical elements for the first minue and a half before a stoner riff and drumming come in. The vocals come in shortly after the two minute mark with a mid-range, screamed delivery. There are some pretty memorable riffs throughout this one. The slow down at the 3:50 point is a nice tempo change and is thick with nasty sludge. I’m also digging the heavy drums and guitar noise that follow. The Black Sabbath like riff at the 5:35 point during the repeated chorus is sick as hell.
Under the Beneath
Wow. I love the opening bass work to “Under the Beneath.” It’s dark, slow and thicker than coagulating blood. Huge guitars come in after the 30 second mark with plodding drums. There’s a memorable hook during it all as well before it’s swallowed at the two minute mark with sludgy riffs and screamed vocals. This one sort of has an evil, psychodelic “Planet Caravan” feel to it. More memorable riffs and catchy rhythms dominate the rest of the track as tempos shift smoothly. Awesome song!
Cremation of Care
This next one starts off with another thick bass line as catchy riffs and creative drums come in with the vocals. The riffs starting up at the one minute mark as memorable and will stick with you long after the song is over. This one also has some of the slowest rhythms on the disc.
Spirit of the Sun
“Spirit of the Sun” starts off immediately with the caustic vocals and heavy drums before settling into a nice groove after the 30 second mark. It’s got a nice flow to it that surrenders to moments of slower paces similar to funeral doom, but is still catchy. This one should have you nodding along from the first beat. There are some impressive, chugging riffs on this one.
Rattle of the Shaman
The final track on this stellar debut starts off with super stoner inspired bass before a thick, sludgy riff comes in with the vocals. “Rattle of the Shaman” is a strong finish to this release. Catchy rhythms and drums will keep this one ticking away in the back of your head for the rest of the afternoon. Light guitars and cymbol work after the 5:20 mark add a nice dimension to the band’s sound that we hadn’t heard previously on the disc.
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Dark and suffocating. There’s no other way to aptly describe this aggressive brand of doomy sludge. The Roller have a massive sound, catchy choruses and pummeling rhythms — what more would a stoner need?
Favorite Tracks:
All of them
Additional Notes:
N/A