Review: Wailin Storms – One Foot In The Flesh Grave
Nov 23
Wailin Storms – One Foot In The Flesh Grave (doom/punk/rock, Magic Bullet Records)
Released 11/20/2015
All Hallow’s Eve isn’t the only reason the fall season conjures feelings of foreboding gloom and something just a little bit sinister. It’s the darker evenings, the dying leaves, and that funny way sound seems to carry better on chilled air. Of course, the end-year in Texas isn’t quite as cold as elsewhere, but you might still hear an odd note or two drifting along a breeze blown off a back-woods bayou. Which is exactly how one can imagine coming across a band like Wailin Storms; catching the faint, reverbed twang of a single coil pickup somewhere in the distance and following it to a hidden speakeasy somewhere in the deep swamp. Some time and beer money later will have you soaking in the haunting energy of the group’s first full-length release, One Foot in the Flesh Grave.
The first impression from this music can be summed up with: The swamp is strong with this one. It’s bluesy, doomy, and thick with sinister suggestion; this type of music doesn’t come from a large well-lit stage in a main street venue, it comes from a dim basement in a moonshine shack. The sound can generally be described as a mix of early Danzig/Samhain and 16 Horsepower, a splicing most noticeable in the vocals. While singer/guitarist Justin Storms’ delivery embodies the former, his timbre and register certainly take after the former. There is an undeniable influence of doom punk and even psychobilly, though strung along in a more laid back manner without the faster tempos and truncated song structures of either of those genres. Which is not to say there isn’t ample energy on One Foot in the Flesh Grave, as there is plenty, it just seeths and stirs just underneath the surface, building tension throughout each song and bursting through here and there in raw climaxes of punk abandon. This vibe is introduced early on with opener “Don’t Forget the Sun”; after an ominous intro the song turns into a mostly downbeat track with a foreboding energy saturating the music of sullen-yet-soulful vocals, a solid rhythm section, and guitars half-overdriven with the dirty twang of psychobilly and doom punk.
Songs like “Ribcage Fireplace” and “Walk” illustrate the fact that the bass and drum rhythm section of Wailin Storms is the central foundation, creating an almost hypnotic beat which the guitars eerily bend themselves around and under. Each instrument has its own distinct role and is treated as such both in songwriting and in the mix, with the exception of occasional raucous bursts of frenzy when everything is off the table and onto the wall. While there are hints of punk, doom, folk, and country the name of the game with the band’s sound is always vibe; dark, haunting, and suggestive. What sets the sound aside and keeps it from being a simple pastiche from doom-punk is the passion and intensity in the performance; Justin Storms’ vocals, with backing from bassist Steve Stanczyk and guitarist Todd Warner are consistently emotive and make for some powerfully catchy choruses. Behind the kit, Mark Oates’ provides a very dynamic backbone to the sound, keeping everything held together, whether it’s during the hypnotically minimalist sections or the rowdy wall-of-sound climaxes.
Conclusion: One Foot in the Flesh Grave is a haunting and sinister batch of bayou-flavored rock reminiscent of Samhain and other early doom-punk bands, along with the punk-influenced side of folk and country like 16 Horsepower. Though it might even conjure Tom Waits at times as well, there’s no glitter with this doom, just fever and gloom. And damn fine sounding gloom at that.
