ALBUM REVIEW: Mage - "Green"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 18/03/2017

Label: Independent

No fuss, no messing about, just good quality stoner/doom of the finest order. Check this album out and check the band out live: I guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

“Green” CD//DD track listing:

1). No Where to Nothing

2). Heroic Elegy

3). Primitive Drive

4). Green

5). Eclipse King

6). The Wheel

7). Vultures Mass

The Review:

Mage, hailing from the East Midlands, are one of those bands that can appeal to lots of different metal heads. There are lots of elements here- stoner, doom, sludge, rock n roll- with vocals more akin to Ben Ward of Orange Goblin than, say, Phil Anselmo. All this makes for an accessible yet still weighty sound.

The album sounds great- nice and thick with big sounds that suit the groove laden material. “Nowhere To Nothing” kicks things off in groove-some style- a statement of intent. “Heroic Elegy” is much slower, veering closer to sludge type territory (Crowbar, not EHG) while “Primitive Drive”does what it says in the title: crushing, relentless, dinosaur-slow stuff.

The title track takes the listener over the half way mark, with a murky main riff and a swinging but slow feel. Nice wah on the verses, too. The faster section down the back stretch is a treat as well- cracking track. The doomier vibe of “Eclipse King” works nicely in heralding in the latter part of the album and brings with it great imagery in the lyrics (great chess references amongst others).

“The Wheel” puts the pedal to the metal (in the realms of stoner/doom anyway!) and sets up a ripping track with a  chugging and shuffling riff; four and a half minutes of joyous head banging fare- well, with some slow stuff in there too. The closing monolith if “Vultures Mass” is a ten minute epic of slow burning moods (and fuzz bass!) which ends the album on a high note. My favourite on the record, in fact. Seven tracks is just the right length for an album of this type- all songs are uniformly strong and hang cohesively together well. There is nothing here under four minutes except one exceptionally epic track. No fuss, no messing about, just good quality stoner/doom of the finest order. Check this album out and check the band out live: I guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

“Green” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook