Review: LONGHOUSE “II: Vanishing”

LONGHOUSE “II: Vanishing”

I’m stepping out of my comfort zone once again, this time for the 2nd album from Canada’s Longhouse

It’s an album of long drawn out songs that average just below the 8 minute mark… and they can take a while to get going as well. Opener, Hunter’s Moon has an intro that lasts over 6 minutes and the whole song clocks in at 8.38… so no rushing into things here.

And as you can probably guess, this ain’t a Thrash album… it’s emotionally charged Sludgy Doom… with a Post Metal side dish… and don’t get put off by the word “emotionally”. There’s no Emo crap going on here… so maybe impassioned would be a better word, but whatever the best choice of word is, I’m sure you get my drift.

The bands vocalist (and lyric writer) Joshua Cayer, who is of Aboriginal descent, touches upon the struggles of the Indigenous children in his native Canada… and the monumental No Name, No Marker deals with those who suffered and were buried in unmarked graves… so emotional in the form of a fitting tribute to the sort of problem that is continually swept under the carpet.

With just five songs on offer, there’s plenty here for those that like their music well thought out and maturely constructed… that’s kind of a crappy choice of words, my point being, this is as far from throwaway as it gets.

Each song builds gradually, with a measured vocal which is more extreme than it is laidback (bar the very Doom-laden finale of The Vigil). There’s some sublime guitar work on offer and the rhythm section is punchy and dominating with an over-riding sense of confidence…

And the more I play this and the more I analyse it, the more I like it… there’s a lot of quality work going on here.

I was brought up as a headbanger… so slower genres aren’t always at the top of my playlist, but I have to say that this has been a real joy to listen to, so if you prefer quality of quantity, these guys are well worth checking out.

https://www.facebook.com/longhouse.ottawa/