Maegashira – The Stark Arctic
For New Jersey doom metal band Maegashira, it is all about atmosphere on their debut album The Stark Arctic. With six tracks and a little over an hour worth of material, the quintet takes their time to steadily lead the listener into a false sense of security before pummeling them with fuzzy, static-encrusted guitar riffs that are repeated ad nausea, especially on the 22-minute closer “Back To Muro.” It takes some degree of patience to be able to digest that track, and The Stark Arctic as a whole. Maegashira does not put simply put everything on a silver platter for the listener; The Stark Arctic is not an easy album to consume. Repeated listens is the name of the game here, a necessary evil in order to fully grasp Maegashira’s debut album.
The Crowbar and Black Sabbath influences are immediately apparent on “Caribou Crossing,” a track oozing in 70’s grime, with guitarist George Pierro’s wah-pedal being put to its full use and an opening riff straight from the Tony Iommi playbook. JJ Koczan’s vocals are all over the place, as he utilizes harsh screams, a raspy yell, and a clean shout throughout The Stark Arctic. “Caribou Crossing,” along with the crass and humorous “Hi From Jersey,” which takes aim at poser rock/metal bands and frontmen who are more concerned with their “sunglasses” than putting on a good show, are the two shortest tracks on here, clocking in at a brief six minutes each. The former is the stronger of the two tracks, with the latter being a relatively dull ride until it picks up in the last minute-and-a-half.
“Ammonia For Sweat” and “Baggage Claim/Skin Slip” make up the middle portion of The Stark Arctic. Both compliment each other quite well, seemingly becoming one long twenty-minute epic instead of two separate tracks. The latter song is fantastically written, starting out aggressive before lulling the listener into a state of tranquility with a clean section that has a Southern rock vibe before bringing back the heaviness for a thrilling conclusion, which has the rhythm section of John Eager and Steven Moraghan, on bass and drums respectively, getting room to provide excellent, if brief, solos.
The Stark Arctic is a good debut album that shows many promising signs for the future for Maegashira. Doom metal fans will find a lot to gravitate themselves towards; the foreboding atmosphere, the dark moods, and the poignant emptiness are all on display throughout The Stark Arctic. Some ideas work better than others; “Back To Muro” takes a long time to warm up to, and even then, it just seems to go nowhere near the end, especially with the pointless outro. Maegashira has their sights in the right direction; they just need a bit more focus to compete with the tight competition in the doom metal genre.
Rating: 7/10
Label: Spare Change
Website: http://www.myspace.com/maegashira
By Dan Marsicano
(+10 rating, 2 votes)
