Under the Mountain – II

[schema type=”review” name=”Under the Mountain – II” author=”Sarp Esin” pubdate=”2018-11-11″ ]How do you take your stoner rock? During a very strange period of my life, I took stoner rock in every way imaginable.  In fact, I started to hear the genre conventions so much in every single release that I’ve grown disillusioned with it all.  So then the question becomes: does Under the Mountain offer me something in their release The Deuce to pull me right back into the arms of desert grooves?

Well, you are reading the answer, so let’s move forward.

Under the Mountain is a stoner rock band from Nanaimo, British Columbia.  These wacky Canadians have brought us a tasty treat filled with stoner rock goodness.  To elaborate: the music contained within The Deuce is stoner rock with finer embellishments.  You have your fuzzy, crunchy guitars spitting out bluesy riffs, grooves and at times softer licks (PPT, Relapse) at every turn.  You have your thick, rumbling bass keeping the low end warm while pounding drums keep rhythm to the many stompers contained within.  They are no slouches when it comes to the soloing department either: just check out the instrumental killer Ursus. 

All this lays the groundwork under the very nice vocals of Steve Plantz.  That bears a special note: seriously, with most stoner bands preferring rugged, at times nigh-indecipherable vocals, to hear a talented vocalist at work is a breath of fresh air.  From the opening salvoes of Freight Train to the rougher edges of Valhalla, Plantz’ vocals are part of the big package.

The production is very decent for a stoner album, though it does at times suffer from its pitfalls.  There is an issue with the sound being somewhat muffled at times.  It is a bit vocal-heavy at certain times, especially in the opener, Freight Train.  This, however, is a minor complaint next to the way the drums are mixed in.  The kicks are a bit too quiet to make an impact, which often undercuts the force of the songs.  The Deuce could have had a much stronger presence and a much more driven sound, but as it is, it falls a little flat.

If there is one issue with the album is that for it’s more metal-laden outbursts, it is very much drenched in the conventions of stoner rock.  There is clearly a drive for making something more than merely stoner rock, but numbers like Relapse, Hold On Tight (with its start-stop verses) or PPT do not quite achieve escape velocity.  Relapse especially is a song I have heard countless times before, its twists, turns and riffs familiar… as is the next track, Into the Unknown which is, for the most part, a stoner stomp. That is, however, par for the course, because genre conventions are always very restrictive and all too often, bands fall into those.

Which is quite a shame because there are true moments in this album that make Under the Mountain shine brighter among their peers.  One of these is Ash and Dust which melds the stoner influences with a distinctively heavy metal approach to the whole thing and is a marvelous piece of work.  Similarly, there are some moments in Into the Unknown that shine the same inclination and thus stand out moreso than some of the more genre-grounded tracks.

However, make no mistake: Under the Mountain offer the full package.  Decent production, rock-solid foundations, a tight grip on their craft and grooves for days.  The talent is there – so if they were to focus on the more disparate elements, then you may expect greatness in the future.  The Deuce is a good album, but it could be more.  Recommended for stoner lovers, rockers who want a taste or those curious.  Give it a go.

Line-Up:
Steve Plantz – lead vocals, guitar
Myles Young – lead guitar
Curt Patrick – bass, backing vocals
Fred Xie – drums

Tracklist: 01. Freight Train 02. Hold On Tight 03. PPT 04. Valhalla 05. Ash and Dust 06. Relapse 07. Into the Unknown 08. Ursus 09. Whiskey Rock 10. Lemmy

Links:
Under the Mountain on Facebook
Under the Mountain on Bandcamp