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Album Description
“Is it doom-pop? Alt-sludge, similar to Torche, but far more informed by pop’s sensibilities? Posi-doom? Grunge-sludge? Psych-sludge-alt-indie-heaviness? I don’t know. But I know that Vol. 1 is excellent, memorable, and infinitely replayable.” – Nine Circles
What SOON has manifested with Vol. 1 is multifaceted, melodic and adventurous. The Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based quartet pulled from a deep well of influence and experience in crafting its eight-song LP spending a concentrated week of revising and tracking, plus two months of tinkering, at the Greensboro studio Legitimate Business with engineer Kris Hilbert (Torch Runner, Between The Buried And Me, The Body) at the helm.
Vol 1. expertly balances mettle and melody, shading their songs with psych-rock textures and melodic finesse. Rather than using their low, slow riffs as dredging sinkholes, deliberate momentum turns meditative—with strong forward pushes devoid of any dead weight. Airy melody and psychedelic flourishes keep these songs nimble and even pop-oriented. The balance of power and grace evokes more triumph than decay, but never sacrifices its grand heft.
Echoes And Dust champions the band’s, “palatable mix of plaintive, soulful melody, strong commercial hooks and pounding, progressive metal.” Heavy Blog Is Heavy agrees, “Vol 1. is a hefty half-hour of emotionally-charged, riffy, entertaining doom-folk, atmospheric and grandiose; it takes its time to build towards sonically satisfying conclusions, but never at the sacrifice of the record’s momentum. SOON knows how to make a record that is tempered in moderation and tasteful in execution, and any fan of doom metal should check this out for its refreshing, well-paced, smartly-written take on the sound.” Some Will Never Know notes, “The power of the material is hidden in psychedelic repeating textures that will continue into pop arrangements with the beautiful vocals of guitarist/vocalist Stuart McLamb. One of the best examples is ‘Datura Stramonium.’ In the end of the song there are country noir influences on the horizon,” furthering, “With some imagination you can call SOON the Deftones on a psychedelic trip. Both bands have in common how brilliant they use the dynamics between heavy riffs and melodic wavered alternative rock. Vocally the voice of Big Business front man Jared Warren is around; especially in the last song ‘Rise’ this type of vocals enlighten the buzzing heavy guitar drones that continue until the endless void.” Adds Nine Circles, “The OCD part of me is driven nuts by the fact that I can’t easily classify SOON’s sound and have to find genre tags for this –– Is it doom-pop? Alt-sludge, similar to Torche, but far more informed by pop’s sensibilities? Posi-doom? Grunge-sludge? Psych-sludge-alt-indie-heaviness? I don’t know. But I know that Vol. 1 is excellent, memorable, and infinitely replayable.”
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