Toner Low

This post thanks to mr. A at Wine Women Song. he turned me onto these guys a while back and I instantly was hooked. Thanks also to Fooch, my buddy out in Seattle who called me last night to tell me how much he loved this album. Hearing that made me want to listen to it right away, and I was reminded again why I think this is such a great album.

Toner Low can superficially be grouped with the ever growing Stoner/ Doom/ Sludge scene that seems to be gaining in popularity every second. You could do that, but Toner Low have something better than that. With the rise of bands like Isis, Sunn O))) and Neurosis, new bands are having to push the envelope to be noticed or regarded as unique. Not so with Toner Low. They dont have to be unique, nor do they have to re-invent the wheel. All they have done is used a good formula and just did it better than most. Crushingly heavy riffs, repeated for a hypnotic head-nodding experience. Psyched out Doom and sinister deep space chill. Sabbath still reigns as the God of such music, but Sabbath was never this heavy. The overall theme of the record is about "Evil Machinery on the Rise" and the evils it will all lead to. It is a very fitting theme for the current day as everywhere we look computer are taking over and once human operated machinery is now equipped with the ability to complete tasks on their own, and do it better.
Certain passaged maintain an evil sound while others have a light almost hopeful approach. Not for long though. The sinister quality lurking under every texture remains there throughout. The whispered vocals on the intro to "Devilbot Designed to Assimilate", the sung vocals at the end of "Praying for Murphy's Law to Arise", and the Sunn O))) tribute, "Into the Sunn of Nymrod" all contribute to making this album a total mind-bending cloudy pysche trip. And the closer, "We Will Conquer" with its amazing rhythm in the beginning, and its apocalyptic thundering crescndo is an incredible way to close out the album and will leave one questioning, "Who is the 'WE' in the title? Is it us that will conquer or is it the machinery that will conquer us?"



The band released the record on their own labelmr. A over at Wine Women Song also has some other great Doom records that fans of Toner Low should find much interest in. There is the new Unearthly Trance, the Funeral Orchestra, with some of the slowest doom yet, and Atavist, an evil sounding form of doom that fans of eyehategod would appreciate. These links will be gone soon, so check them out while you can, and be sure to thank mr. A and buy what you like from places like Stoner Rock.