Barishi – “Old Smoke”
Album Reviews | Jul 20th, 2020
Genre: Metal/Post Metal/Progressive
Record Label: Season of Mist
Link: thebarishi.com
Buy on Amazon.com
Hailing from Vermont, Barishi are quite the long road trip metal band to listen to. Their sound mixes the mysticism of Mastodon with the adventure of old Opeth in a raw natural; yet very tight and well taught musically. Unlike previous outings this effort tends to hit on the lengthier side of tracks. The telecaster attack with savage screamed vocals is still enough to fend off wolves and bears. At times the songs above 10 minutes might be a bit much to get into considering most folks nowadays either have too much time on their hands or not enough to properly soak in tunes like this.
There’s an almost jammy feel to a lot of the tracks here, while length isn’t on their side, if you’re familiar with their previous work you’ll notice right away that they’ve continued to carve out and expand their style. It’s kind of a weird experience to listen and not think “These guys sound like Mastodon” in a non-dismissive manner; but then again how many bands actually try and pull that off? It’s a great lane to be in and distinguishes them from the rabid pack of other metal bands that just drag and drop their drums and all use the same amp models. The raw sound previously mentioned give it this natural tapestry almost like driving or hiking up a mountain.
Overall this will hit you right in the Akerfeels on your ascent up Blood Mountain. I feel like this is a really cool niche band everyone should give a chance to just to expand their metal pallet with a bit of adventure.
Notable Tracks: Blood Aura, The Longhunter, Entombed in Gold Forever
Overall Rating:
