Harvester Doom Metal / Co. Galway

I stumbled across a link this morning on the Metal Ireland forums to this gem and I’m already on my 6th replay. Quality Doom inspired Stoner Rock which is never a bad thing. Chunky ass riffs with solos and melody added to the mix. It’s not really surprising that the quality of the tunes on this free online release is to a sufficiently good standard seeing that all the members are currently, or have in the past been, in a wealth of some of Galway’s best Rock/Punk/Hardcore/Metal bands.

The production is good and clear but not polished as you’d expect from a Stoner/Doom band. Opening track ‘Cosmonautical Mile’ begins with some feedback before a simple riff weeds its way out of the speakers and the drums introduce the rest of the band to the mix. It’s a full on rockin’ track right from the off. ‘Circle Eater’ follows with more meaty riffs with loads of twiddly guitar bits at the ends of most bars. ‘Aberration’ changes the formula slightly. There’s a bit more life and flair to the guitars, especially with on the solos, as well as some proper thumping drums which really help the track to stand out.Indeed the band seem to take on a whole new life from this point on and keep the momentum going into ‘Old Blood’, the closing section of which is pure quality.

Penultimate track, ‘Atom Splitter’, steps up a gear yet again. Speed is kept at bay and the band instead let rip with some absolutely monstrous riffing that makes this track another superb highlight. They could have easily wrapped things up at this point but HARVESTER have one last trick up their collective sleeves. The epic instrumental ‘All Roads Led Away’ is quite simply a brilliant track that picks you up and carries you along with it.

This demo/EP, whatever you want to call it, has made my hum-drum, boring-as-fuck work day fly. That’s a big PLUS in my book!!! Highly recommended. More please…