Heavy Lord



2006 - From Cosmos To Chaos

Official Site

Reviews:

NineHertz Reviews
(january 2007)

This is the second CD from Dutch four piece Heavy Lord, the other being a demo titled 'The Holy Grail' from 2004. From what I can gather, this is their first real official release and came out on Solitude Productions back in the latter months of 2006. I've been listening to it for a while now and it has really paid dividends to have been able to assimilate it properly. for sure and I guess you'd expect as much from a five track CD that lasts a little over 40 minutes. There are a couple af shorter tracks (around 5 minutes) but, it is the longer ones that really impress on repeat listens.

Opening track 'Elephant' begins pretty riff heavy and moderatly sludgy. Here as elsewhere on the album there is a good mix of low bellowed vocals and some more throaty screams. It's good stuff and enjoyable for sure. Many bands would probably be happy, having established a groove and a good riff like this, to just repeat it and work the song to a rupturing climax. Heavy Lord eschew the expected path choosing instead to work-in subtle tempo changes and variation to gradually guide the track to a stop after 11 minutes.

Of the other two longer tracks on the CD, the last track 'While Empires Burn' is the most striking. It's a slow build up, lots of atmosphere and a surprising amount of melody though it is by no means light hearted. It only gets past mid pace after seven or so minutes but is strangely compelling in it's intensity and intent. It reminds me in places of Ultraspank (look them up if you can be bothered) and is an impressive ending to a thoroughly impressive album.

I initially approached this release with a little scepticism as I'm not usually a fan of songs that go on too long. That is not to say I dislike long songs. Rather that I believe it takes a certain level of song craft to compose ten minutes plus tunes that hold interest and are not simply the same riff repeated 20 times. Especially if you chose to stick with one particular style of music, in this case heavy doom. Yob were a prime example of perfectly crafted, heavy doom epics. Heavy Lord have considerably more groove than the increasingly dense balls of molten lead that Yob produced, but I find that the two share an ability to craft longer tunes of real interest that is currently pretty rare. If you have the patience this is heartily reccomended.

Reviewed by: Janne

Metal Only
(december 2006)

With a band name such as HEAVY LORD it\'s quite obvious that you\'re faced with heavy music. It\'s then no surprise that this heavy weight band from The Netherlands are deeply rooted in doom metal, but also the sludge metal influences shines brightly through on this debut album, entitled “From Cosmos To Chaos”.

You can easily draw parallels between HEAVY LORD\'s sound and the old traditional doom metal. The atmosphere is more or less the same and the heavy and powerful guitar riffs stands in the center, supported by a relatively slow drumming. Especially on the second song “Scorpion Sting”, which is also one of the strongest songs on the album, the feeling of BLACK SABBATH grows very strong. In this case it\'s just a positive thing, since even though HEAVY LORD doesn\'t bring anything new and innovative, they still use this old recipe in a really convincing way. They have however added to this traditional doom metal some clear elements from sludge metal so the sound becomes therefor slightly dirtier and rawer and also at times becomes surprisingly fast and aggressive, like for example on the second half on “The Ego Has Landed”. This a bit surprising aggressiveness is also heard in the vocals, which to most part consist of the quite traditional rough voice with the unclean undertones, but which at times transforms into pure roars and screams. A cool parenthesis regarding “The Ego Has Landed” is that the song is apparently about ROBBIE WILLIAMS and as the title suggests it\'s not in a flattering way. The lyrics are also generally filled with attitude, which suits the music really well. Even though the song material isn\'t evenly strong enough to have the strength to lift up the album to the skies, the overall impression is good and “From Cosmos To Chaos” is convincing.

If you would like to describe in just a few words the album “From Cosmos To Chaos”, the words heavy as hell would be a good alternative. HEAVY LORD have in other words succeeded really well with creating a really heavy sound and “From Cosmos To Chaos” is as a debut a really good release.

Reviewed by: Janne

MetalReviews.com
(december 2006)
(82/100)

This review marks an exciting moment for me, as this will be the first in a series of reviews gauging the quality of releases from up and coming doom label Solitude Productions from Russia. I am always excited to hear new material, but I must admit to being particularly psyched about a label whose sole purpose is the genre that I love. The first, and possibly best, of the bunch is Heavy Lord, hailing from the Netherlands, with their second release From Cosmos to Chaos, their first outing on Solitude Productions.

First, let me start by conveying the unique aspect of the sound captured by Heavy Lord on this album. The band, unapologetically and admittedly, pays homage to the likes of Electric Wizard, Sleep, Reverend Bizarre and of course Black Sabbath. However, their music has a dark and sinister quality that makes them anything but a carbon copy stoner doom outfit. Of course, as with any stoner doom band worth listening to, the riffing on this album is nothing short of outstanding, aided by a solid production effort. The vocals of bassist Steve (no last name given) generally sound like they take a cue from Lee Dorrian, but tend to branch into other styles as well.

This album begins with the massive and thunderous Elephaunt, an 11+ minute stylistic showcase of everything Heavy Lord has to offer. After an opening riff barrage, the dark quality comes into play around the seven-minute mark. The descending clean riff is an adventurous choice, and one that works very well. There are moments in closing minutes where the riffs are a little too drawn out for my taste, but this is far from a major problem.

The speed is dialed up on Scorpion Sting, a straight-ahead Sabbath-esque jaunt. The presence of Wout, the drummer (or battery, as he is referred to by the band), is felt as the increase in speed gives him a chance to showcase his skills behind the kit. Perhaps the most inherently heavy track on the album follows in the comically titled The Ego Has Landed. An absolute gut buster of a riff is the driving force, and, coupled with the best vocal performance on the album, particularly in the chorus, makes for a standout track. The second half drops off a bit, as I could have definitely done without the Tasmanian Devil screech by guitarist Wes Lee, but the chaotic guitar tradeoff between Lee and fellow founder Yev (again, no last name given) make up for the vocal issue. The next track, One is a Billion, is multi-speed affair that sees Steve’s vocals experiment with a death metal growl. I must say, for all the different vocal attempts, the band would be much better off sticking to the Lee Dorrian meets Lemmy approach they primarily employ, as the other styles just don’t fit the music near as well.

Another monstrous epic is found in the closer, While Empires Burn. Clocking in at 10+ minutes, it begins with the most sinister portion of the album, a low and soft guitar line accompanied by deeply sung vocals. Around three minutes in, Wout’s drums charge in alongside a mind-numbing scream that is truly evil sounding. My only problem with this hefty package is that it drags on too long. This song could have easily been shortened to around seven minutes without sacrificing anything. Again, this is only a minor complaint.

From Cosmos to Chaos is a fresh and welcome take on the genre of stoner doom, one that can easily become stale. Besides the vocals, which will take some getting used to for some, the musicianship is superb. Heavy Lord are very adamant in their stripped down approach, as seen by their description of themselves as "NO keyboards, NO female singers and NO violins and other bullshit – this is ultra heavy doom from the underground". Although I get a good chuckle from this description, I cannot argue with it. This band exudes doom in its purest sense, introducing new wrinkles while still following the formula laid down by the originators of the genre. Though I have yet to sample the rest of the Solitude Productions catalog, we certainly got off on the right foot with Heavy Lord. Fans of stoner doom must check this out, as not doing so would be a severe disservice.

Reviewed by: Adam

Morbid Tales
(november 2006)

This CD is the first full-length of these Dutch doomsters. With 5 songs clocking from 5 to 11 minutes each (!!), they remind me a lot of SLEEP and GRAND MAGUS (doom with a stoner touch). Sometimes a bit Forest of Equilibrium CATHEDRAL pops here and there (mostly for the super slow songs, and the death vocals). The production is great, the riffs are heavy as hell not really original, but I like it, so who cares! I like the fact that you can really hear every instrument perfectly it was very well recorded indeed! The album cover is pretty boring, the colors used (pink and blue sky) are not doomy enough to my taste!! (In my opinion, only SAINT VITUS Born Too Late can break that rule!!) I don t really have much else to say, but this is a good album. Not something I would listen to all the time, but it passes the MORBID TALES test. Cheers!

Reviewed by: Satannick

Tartarean Desire
(november 2006)
(5,5/10)

Some people think I always start my reviews telling the style and the country of origin of the band reviewed. Well, to satisfy those self righteous souls, I?ll do my best and I won?t start these lines telling Heavy Lord is a stoner band from the Netherlands. Enough! Or too much? Nothing really impressive perceived through the listening of the 1?s and 0?s contained in this CD, except for some loose groovy guitar riffs here and there, pretty scarce for the taste of a demanding listener as I am. If I got into the body and soul of an average music fan I wouldn?t dislike “From Cosmos To Chaos” at all. Technically speaking and analysing the songmaking, this band is mostly correct. Heavy Lord alternate classic distorted riffs with other hazy dark parts to provide a certain prog feeling or something similar. The main lacks are: the low originality (something usual nowadays... perhaps the guys hadn?t creativeness as a goal...) and the boredom derived from some passages. Some songs are quite long and that fact stresses that dull element. To begin a stoner album with a 11 minutes piece is brave and dangerous, to say the least. It?s hard to be epic and succeed at the same time, and stoner doom is not an easy way to achieve it... As far as vocals are concerned, when they?re supposed to reach intensity matching crescendos of the music, the results are not convincing at all. Other tones used by singer Steve also fail to fit well in the music. Obviously vocals need more work... An average band still trying to find their own way into the scene.

Reviewed by: Fjordi

StonerRock.com
(october 2006)

It being the Halloween season and all, I was looking through the contents of The Magic Box (in reality a humble cardboard box which contains all the CDs waiting to be reviewed) for something appropriate. Well, when I came upon a band called Heavy Lord and their album entitled From Cosmos to Chaos, I was fairly certain I had hit the jackpot, and verily, I was right. Y’know, you probably don’t even need me to describe the music for you if you have a smidgen of imagination, but just in case – it’s slow, heavy, dark and doomy, and I like it very, very much.

There are five tracks on offer here, and opener “Elephaunt” is my pick of the litter, with its Cathedral-esque riffs and a killer vocal duo that coughs up the growls and tempers them with a slightly cleaner voice that still sounds stonedly evil. That’s not to say that the other tracks disappoint – they don’t. Nice dynamics, as shown by the semi-psych Children of the Grave-y vibe of the second track, “Scorpion Sting,” and a (dare I say?) something akin to a non-melodramatic Type O Negative feel on “While Empires Burn.” As cliche as it may be to say it, play this really fucking loud, and pad your furniture to prevent head injury. Your brethren in the Netherlands await your support.

Reviewed by: tenebr8

Metal Observer
(october 2006)
(7,5/10)

This is Doom. And I don’t mean the sappy kind where you can make any reference to Gothic or epic whatsoever, but pure sludgy and groovy doom, build on a foundation of heavy riffs. The culprits are HEAVY LORD, from The Netherlands whom with this “From Cosmos To Chaos” have released their second album.

Next to the guitar work which can be seen as an extreme sludgy and heavy version of SABBATH-styled riffs HEAVY LORD uses a bit of experimentation to add variety. The vocals for example are usually pretty distorted and half sung/half growled but the second half of “Elephaunt” sees some really psychedelic singing over calmer music which works really well. “The Ego Has Landed” (song-title of the year!) has a brilliant sharp solo coming out of nowhere and continues with great groovy and almost galloping riffs. And “Scorpion Sting” in the beginning has an unmistakable “Children Of The Grave” vibe that works really well with their heavy kind of Doom.

Back to vocals – “One In Billion” has everything from shrieking screams to deep growls to desperate shouts and it always seems to fit their sound. Because there are only five songs on this 40+ minute album every one of them is lengthy with many different sections, all varying in quality, so it’s hard to point a favourite song. Nonetheless the variety is subtle yet real good but I can’t help but feel that this album reveals only a part of their talent; if they improve the songwriting they should be capable of even more interesting stuff!


Reviewed by: Milan Elkerbout

Doom-Metal.Com
(april 2006)

As you can read in my review of 'The Holy Grail', I was pretty impressed with Dutch doomsters Heavy Lord. Well, that feeling seems to be right on the spot, as I'm impressed once again with this new release, which is scheduled for release in March 2006 by fledgling doom label Solitude Productions from Russia.

In a way, this album is more of the same, when compared to the first album. But 'From Cosmos to Chaos' is a significant step forward as well. The four guys from Heavy Lord are firmly in the driver's seat, so to speak, as this album sounds more confident and professional than the last one. A pretty big development in a short time. The production has improved greatly, without losing any amount of the grim heaviness that was present on the first disc.

The music, like I said, is still raw, sluggish and, above all, heavy. Sabbathy goodness, but with those 30+ years of doom evolution thrown in for good measure. Heavy Lord sound scarily up to date, while still having the spunk to appeal to the more traditionally minded. Each of the five songs is a mix of low, dirty riffs, some calm and brooding parts (the beginning of 'While Empires Burn' comes to mind) and some severe acceleration thrown in for good measure. Any doomster worth his title will catch himself banging at least several times during these 41 minutes.

So, go out and get yourself some of this, is what I'd say. This is very decent underground heaviness for those who can't get enough of that creamy center of doom: the riffin'. Recommended for lovers of traditional and modern heaviness.


Reviewed by: Oscar Strick

Night Ritual Webzine
(2005)
(85/100)

Here's a great release for fans of the Black Sabbath worshiping stoner doom style of metal. This band is from The Netherlands, and they offer up five tracks of slow, heavy as fuck metal. The guitars and guitar harmonies at times made me think of CATHEDRAL. The vocals remind me a little of Eric Wagner (TROUBLE) in that they are a little painful to listen to, yet they somehow fit the music well. The vocals sound a little bit like if Lemmy decided to sing some doom, if you can imagine that. Many long instrumental parts that you can really get lost in. Overall HEAVY LORD should appeal to fans of bands such as ELECTRIC WIZARD, SOLACE and ST. VITUS, just to name a few.

Reviewed by: Renee Maxwell

Load of Noise Zine
(2005)

Any fan of Crowbar, Electric Wizard and Down, in fact any New Orleans style sludge, should check out Heavy Lord. It is a ballsy name for a band but they have many a riff with which to back it up! 5 songs in 40 minutes gives you an indicator of the kind of tracks HL bring to the fold; weighty, long and heavy as hell. ‘Scorpion Sting' kicks off with my favourite riff of the cd, one which almost rivals Crowbar's ‘Like Broken Glass' in its repeating-chug-groove awesomeness. Like many doom/sludge bands HL aren't afraid to draw a song out for as long as they feel like, keeping the riffs flowing and then gradually slowing them down to a complete standstill. This is an excellent release with one minor criticism which is that it sounds a lot like its influences, but when they are Down and Crowbar this is easily forgivable!

FishComCollective
(2005)

Heavy Lord couldn't have chosen a better name. It's a classic sounding moniker that sounds like it belongs on the cover of a riff-heavy but clean-vocaled doom metal band, and that's exactly what it is. There's no mistaking the black solar flare riffs that come off slomo from your speakers and send you into a THC trance. Lumbering, heavy guitars, solid percussion and well executed sung vocals blend in this atmospheric, classy example of what good sludged-out stoner metal should sound like. Grab your blunds and hit the play button.

Reviewed by: Upchuck Undergrind

Downtune Despondency
(2005)

Once again I have had the pleasure of reviewing the extreme brutality know as HEAVY LORD. From Cosmos to Chaos, Heavy Lord's second release, has proven to be a worthy follow on from their debut The Holy Grail. From Cosmos to Chaos features 5 skull crushing tracks that yet again feature ferocious vocals, distorted guitars and brain pounding drum beats that would meet the disapproval of any straight laced neighbours when cranked at loud decibels!

The CD starts and finishes with 2 marathon tracks. To begin with, Elephant, running at 11.15 mins a nice introduction to the carnage that's about to unveil, and to conclude we have While Empires Burn playing time at 10:47 mins. Both tracks representing and demonstrating the power this band has to offer. Wedged in between these two monstrous tracks we have Scorpion Sting. A winding spiral of guitars which leads us into some frantic poundage on the drums, WOUT you are the man! For me the entering into The Ego Has Landed is the eye of the storm... by far my top pick of the CD. If you enjoy taking in a good dose of pissed off vocals and extremely heavy riffage then look no further because this track commands volume in large quantities. One Is A Billion eases the listener down from the chaotic ride and leads us into this magnificant track While Empires burn, the finale. I must say this one is a different approach for Heavy Lord, in my opinion, this song takes on a more melancholic feel in comparison to their previous work. Once again the vocals in this track are nothing short of brilliant, taking on many forms throughout the song. DREADFUL and I say that with the highest regards. Keep bringing it Heavy Lord.

In the closing of this review I wanted to address the fact that some have placed Heavy Lord in the "Stoner Rock" category. Whilst I respect everyone's opinions and also have to point out that I myself am a fan of stoner rock, I honesty don't know what you guys have been sticking in your pipe because these boys are far from stoner rock they are DOOM DOOM DOOM inhale the misery!!!

Quintessence
(2005)

Heavy Lord returns after an already great debut, “The Holy Grail” from 2004, with their sophomore release. This 5 track CD with over 40 minutes of music opens with a riff and drum pattern that reminds me of Confessor, but that’s about the only thing comparable to that band. If I have to name some references I would say Heavy Lord sounds like a mixture of Cathedral, Electric Wizard and Crowbar. A damn heavy sound that is and it has been captured on tape very well courtesy of studio ‘t Pand in Vlaardingen, Holland. This studio used to be the main metal studio in the Rotterdam area, so it’s good to hear the guys at that studio still know the tricks of the trade. Compared to their previous recording I feel that Heavy Lord has progressed quite a lot in their song writing. They really have put time and effort in these 5 compositions that are basically top heavy but also have their quieter moments which is great for the overall atmosphere this CD displays. Another noticeable progression is the way both guitars are mixed together, both the tone of the guitars fit each other very well, as well as the riffs that complement each other very nicely. I also have to mention vocalist Steven who has a fabulous and very varied voice that fits this type of sludgy doom metal the way it should. I dare to say that in their short period of existence Heavy Lord has become one of the top bands in Holland in this style of music. Well done lads!.

Reviewed by: http://www.quintessence.sh