The guitars caught my attention immediately, full of chugging rhythms and a crunchy tone that work brilliantly with the thinned out, distorted production of Southern sludge. Destined For The Sun keeps the energy level high by eschewing the weight and lumbering slowness of most sludge by incorporating punk riff structures and big, steady, crashing drums. The rhythm and pace of the album gallop forward, reminding me pointedly of Mastodon, Kylesa and Baroness.
The vocals also conjure punk, with their harsh spoken work quality, but it’s the subject matter that sets this release apart. Destined For The Sun is a concept album that tells the story of a peaceful planet colonized by a hungrily expanding space empire. The inhabitants are placed aboard a ship and sent hurtling towards their sun.
Their suffering causes a Rift Wurm to hear their screams and knock them off course. The survivors then land on an inhabitable planet where they rebuild, with revenge on their minds, becoming “nomadic space Vikings.” There’s nothing about that combination of words that isn’t fantastic.
Intelligent and playful, Destined For The Sun is an album that manages to combine skilful instrumentation and great storytelling with a sense of humour. Elks are making music that sweats and smirks, curls a lip. Strange and modern, without a hint of slick smugness, and not a hair overproduced, Destined For The Sun is as tight and bright as a neutron star.
(released September 13, 2011 on TeePee Records)
