The Bottom Line
Pros
- Reminds you of the doom masters but still has an original sound.
Cons
- Final track a bit too long.
Description
- Released January 20, 2009 on Spare Change Records.
- This is Maegashira’s first label release. They have also recorded one split and two self-produced albums.
- Recorded at Redline Archiving in Little Silver, New Jersey.
- "Maegashira" is a ranking title in professional Sumo wrestling.
Guide Review - Maegashira - 'The Stark Arctic'
The Stark Arctic has all of the virtues of doom but none of the pitfalls; the songs are never reduced to layers of feedback. Only six tracks fill the hour-long album but you never feel the impulse to listen to something else.
Maegashira also pays homage to the masters but never sounds like a retread; "Caribou Crossing" and "Baggage Claim/Skin Slip" have a funky Black Sabbath vibe from the Volume 4 era. The album only stalls temporarily during "Back To Muro, a gargantuan nearly 25-minute track, but the fast passages save the song from epic bloat.
The individual performances throughout are strong; John Eager’s warm bass is omnipresent. JJ Koczan works as a metal journalist, but he does wonders moonlighting as a vitriolic doom singer. He sings and screams with aplomb. George Pierro can dig a riff deep into a place where the listener is almost uncomfortable and doesn’t engage in atmospherics that bring songs to an abrupt halt. Steven Moraghan’s drumming is a model of Phil Rudd-like precision.
The Stark Arctic is a promising label debut from a band with a distinct voice.
