You know, it’s funny how drumming can make or break an album. Take Pelican, for example. Last year’s City of Echoes was largely panned by many critics (including our own Lee Whitefield) for many reasons, but the most persistent and enduring complaint was simply that Larry Herweg drummed with the effectiveness of a paraplegic. Some even said that they thought the guitar-work was Pelican’s best yet, but that the percussion absolutely ruined the experience. Blackwaves, an instru-metal band of the doom variety, seem to be in exactly the opposite boat with their new album, 012. Although the guitars are consistently redundant and devastatingly unoriginal, the rather phenomenal drumming elevates 012 ever so slightly above the pack.
As is so often the case, the first track on the album is representative of what will follow. “0110 C1” starts out with three minutes of droning guitars, which I’m sure were thought to be brutal and uncompromising, but really just end up being boring. To be honest, it’s a struggle to keep myself focused. Then, appearing as a shining beacon in the darkness, drummer Tommec starts pulling off some sick snare rolls, and my interest is instantly rekindled. From this point forward, the drum beats are engaging and interesting – far more so than the guitars – and they pretty much constitute the only reason I continue to listen to the song. I’m not quite sure what Tommec was doing for the first half the song but once he comes out of his shell, he does not relent.
The second track, “0114 Aa” (and yes, all the tracks all named like that), provides a delightful exception to the guitars-are-boring-drums-are-not rule that pervades the rest of the album, and is easily 012’s best song. In a rare moment of cohesion, every member of the band manages to sound awesome, and right from the get-go. In the doom metal genre, far too many songs (including the previously mentioned) begin with an unnecessarily long guitar repetition. “0114 Aa” starts with a scant thirty seconds of drone before transitioning into some truly ridiculous drumming, and chugging guitar complements the percussion wonderfully. Like racers revving their engines before the starting light, those thirty seconds prove the perfect prelude to the explosion to follow.
Some attention must be given to the production of this album, which is very good. The guitars are consistently clear and comprehensible. The drums, going along with what seems to be the overall theme of the album, have a particularly excellent production. They just sound right. The snare especially has a tight, sharp sound that sends shivers down my spine. Great credit must be given to Tommec for his captivating and inventive drumming, but at least a small portion of that credit must be shared with the producer.
What 012 really constitutes is a fairly typical, paint-by-numbers doom post-metal outfit, who happen to have hired a truly excellent drummer. As I said at the beginning of this review, 012 is essentially a reverse City of Echoes – except that Blackwaves’ guitar-work is nowhere near as bad as Pelican’s drumming. “0114 Aa” stands out as a shining example of what this band can do when they all work together, but, sadly, it is the exception rather that the rule.
-Tom Butcher