Nightfly Having been impressed by Black Moth’s 2014 album Condemned To Hope’s blend of doom, stoner and garage rock (which showed considerable growth over their debut) I was looking forward to hear Anatomical Venus, their first in four years. It sees a line-up change with guitarist Federica Gialanze taking over from Nico Carew. She previously played in a Black Sabbath tribute band whose influences can be heard in the grooves of this latest release as they were on the last album. The title Anatomical Venus was inspired by the wax models of women created by Clementi Susini which whilst being accurate anatomical figures for medical study also unsettlingly beautified them in death.

Istra kicks things off in fine style with powerful riffing and Harriet Hyde’s authoritatively biting vocal delivery but the song also manages to introduce some light and shade which works very well. A strong start and equally good is Moonbow, a pre-album single release, with a captivating and hypnotic 6/8 time riff. They clearly like playing in 6’s as Tourmaline later in the album does too. Whilst most of the influences that made Condemned To Hope such a strong release are in place they do seem to have toned down the purer doom touches, which were never particularly prevalent anyway, with most of the album being more in the stoner metal/rock vein with the garage rock still rearing its head from time to time. Black Moth are showing a lot of maturity as songwriters too with much of the album being their strongest work to date. The only lapse into ordinariness is Buried Hoards which whilst not bad creates a momentary lull though pleasingly short lived. Songs like Severed Grace more than make up for it though. A truly remarkable, haunting and powerful song, delving into the subject of the album title.

Anatomical Venus whilst I didn’t originally think so is the bands best work so far. A few listens however soon revealed what a compelling collection of songs this is with a few clever and unexpected twists and turns and deserves to give them wider recognition and success.

Nightfly Condemned To Hope is the second album from Leeds doom/garage quintet Black Moth. Their debut album, The Killing Jar, released in 2012 was a strong statement of intent blending their influences of Black Sabbath inspired doom with an equal love of The Stooges and 60’s garage rock with punk attitude. Condemned To Hope follows in a similar vein with a bigger doom quotient, a tighter sound and an overall stronger collection of songs. The band play better and Harriet Bevan’s distinctive and powerful vocals, already a force to reckon with are better than ever. For some time it was bugging me who she reminded me of and then it came to me. It was the former Smashing Pumpkins bassist, Melissa Auf Der Maur who took the vocals on her solo albums.

Opener Tumbleweave is a killer opener with a great groove and driving dual guitar riff topped by Harriet Bevan’s biting vocals and some subtle and effective use of time changes. From then it moves through the garage punk of Set Yourself Alight and Looner. The Undead King Of Rock ‘n’ Roll and The Last Maze hit doom territory and the former in particular, one of the strongest cuts.

On Side 2 – yes, this album was made for vinyl, The up tempo White Lies hits hard followed by the more subdued Red Ink that takes a few listens to reveal itself. Room 13 is another hard hitting grungy highlight and Stinkhorn is subtler and dynamic with some impressive musical interplay and another favourite cut of mine. Slumber With The Worm is all 60’s rock ‘n’ roll showing their garage influences to great effect. The title track closes in fine style with more doom laden riffs.

Black Moth are the kind of band that transcend musical genre’s and could equally appeal to your indie loving mate as much as metalheads. Condemned to Hope is a killer album with a beautiful Roger Dean painted cover to boot (Yes, Greenslade, Uriah Heep and Budgie fans know his work well) and one can only expect even better to come from this young band.

Kingcrimsonprog 2012’s The Killing Jar is the debut full-length studio album from the exciting British band Black Moth.

Mixing all the best parts of the Doom, Desert, Stoner, Grunge and Fuzz ends of the spectrum, their sound is a brilliant amalgamation of many other bands, and yet always like Black Moth. Sometimes they have a bit of a psychedelic vibe, sometimes they have melodic pop sensibilities and sometimes they lean hard on the riffs and just go really heavy. In writing it may sound like a million other bands, but like Dozer’s later work they have somehow managed to forge a unique identity in a crowded scene.

Basically, if you like any sort of bands like Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Dozer, Electric Wizard, QOTSA, Sleep, Monster Magnet, Goatsnake, Solarized, Sheavy, Baroness, Kylesa, Pentagram, Reverend Bizarre, Clutch, Josh Homme era Arctic Monekys and of course Black Sabbath, then you’ll know the vague direction to expect from Black Moth. If you like a few of them, then you should probably check out Black Moth, they provide a nice twist on that general sound.

Singer Harriet Bevan’s vocals provide a lot of character, mixing the sort of tortured-psychedelic female vocal style from the late 60s with Ozzy’s style and also a healthy bit of 90s Grunge as well. Over the course of the album she covers a lot of ground and like the music, slides between different ends of the same spectrum well, creating a strong whole.

As an album The Killing Jar is strong and consistent, its not overlong, its not too short and the dirty grimy production is perfect for this sort of music. Highlights include the ‘Spit Out Your Teeth,’ which starts off hypnotic and then rides off in an odd direction as well as the beefy ‘The Plague Of Our Age,’ the slow and doomy then catchy/poppy ‘Plastic Blaze’ and also the album closer ‘Honey Lung.’

In summary; If you like this sort of music then Black Moth are an excellent proposition and The Killing Jar is a damn fine debut album; its dirty, its varied and it doesn’t get boring. If you still need convincing, as a test, listen to the song ‘Land Of The Sky’ online, and if it puts a big smile on your face then you’ll know that you should get yourself a copy.