Kingcrimsonprog Sheavy are talented and underrated Canadian Stoner Rock/Metal band from who have been producing a string of enjoyable and well made albums since the early Nineties. They write songs that are heavily Black Sabbath inspired yet feature a personality of their own too, which also evolves as the band mature over time. While the band’s earliest work was psychedelic and space rock in places, this album, Republic? Finds the band at their heaviest and most straight-forward.

Sheavy have never become as successful as they deserve and aren’t as well known as some of the bigger American Stoner Bands but are a great band to check out should you happen to enjoy that particular Subgenre or have an urge to hear a rough approximation of what it would possibly be like if Ozzy Osbourne were still a member of Black Sabbath in the 1990s and the band had moved to the desert to spend time touring with Kyuss and Fu Manchu.

Republic? was the band’s fifth full-length studio album and was released in 2005. It was one of the last albums to feature the now classic line-up of Steve Hennessey, Dan Moore, Keith Foley and Ren Squires. While the album is slightly harder, darker, heavier and more straight-forward than the albums which preceded it, the album still hold’s true to the band’s core sound of interesting and well written guitar solos, Iommi influenced riffs melding into pleasant modern songs and singer Steve’s remarkably Ozzy-a-like vocals for which the band arguably are best known.

While the band unquestionably owe a debt to Sabbath they will also appeal to fans of all sorts of Desert/Stoner/Slightly Retro Rock and Metal bands such as the aforementioned Fu Manchu and Kyuss as well as the likes of Sleep, Dozer, Bison BC, Karma To Burn, Clutch, Five Horse Johnson etc as the band’s chosen production style, tonal choices and overall ‘feel’ share something in common with those sorts of artists.

Highlights include `Standing At The Edge Of The World,' `Spy VS. Spy,' and the album closer `Last Chance (Gremlin X)' but of course Sheavy are always good at creating consistent records that stay strong throughout.

At the end of the day; Republic? is yet another enjoyable collection of Stoner Rock/Metal tracks from Sheavy, with a slightly heavier and more direct approach than their earlier work. If you like the band then you will still definitely like this album and I recommend that you try it out if you usually like this sort of music.