TONER LOW — II (review)

TONER LOW — II album cover Album · 2008 · Stoner Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Unitron
"One, two, five, three"

Number order really doesn't matter when one's stoned out of their mind, but seeing as this is music not math, it really doesn't matter here anyway does it? On the music end, Toner Low manages to take the Dopesmoker formula to the next level. Droning, sludgy, vibrating, groggy, and even spacey; these are all descriptors that could be used for Toner Low's almost droning brand of stoner-doom.

Despite being separated into four tracks, Toner Low's II may as well be listened to in one go. Shifting from the usual doomy Sabbath-esque riffing, to slow droning sludgy pounding that may be heard on a Boris record, and the band's own unique space-doom metal touch, the band hits all the check-boxes for a great stoner-doom album. That unique sound is given from the sound effects that are placed among all the tracks that sound straight out of an old 50's Sci-fi movie. The band's spacey sound is only increased by the robotic-sounding vocals that are featured in "One", which can only be described as a robot who smoked a bit too much of that dope while listening to Dopesmoker.

While the band mostly brings the dazed sludgy-doom goods, they certainly have some fantastic use of subtleties. The best example of this is on "Two", which has an absolutely fantastic bass dirge that just sends chills down my spine. The bass maintains a lethargic chromatic plod down the scale, while subtle jazzy touches are sprinkled in to give it a cool taste. I've never heard doom metal and jazz work together so well before, but it just sounds incredible here. The bass dirge is brought into the crashing sound of the fuzzed-out guitar and roaring vocals blasting back into the song after several minutes of Toner Low's Masterpiece Theater for bass.

Ultimately, Toner Low masters the art of stoner-doom. It's heavy, lethargic, and droning like the best. However, the band knows how to throw in their own unique touch to avoid sounding like a standard average band. If you want to get stoned with music, this album does that job quite well. Hope you found this review helpful, feel free to comment!
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