Italian metal label Minotauro Records is doing something of a re-launch these days, and the first current band they are pushing forward with is Portland, Maine doom/stoner/proto-metal act Ogre. Their fourth album, The Last Neanderthal is a bruising, heavy hitting affair, certain to attract anyone into classic doom riffs with a '70s vibe. The press info lists possible influences as Black Sabbath, Budgie, Dust, Rush, Saint Vitus, and Pentagram, and to be honest, they are not far off in that assessment, with absolutely crushing tunes like "Bad Trip", "Nine Princes in Amber" and the psychedelia drenched heavy rock of "Son of Sisyphus". To add an even more interesting twist, the band do a cover of "Soulless Woman" by an even more unknown US band also called Ogre from the '70s. This one's a more funk styled hard rock number, with thick wah-wah guitars and lots of groove, but it fits in here just fine. "Warpath" lumbers along like a long lost leftover from the Black Sabbath Master of Reality sessions, and the near 11-minute "The Hermit" slows things down to a crawl, with plenty of guitar textures, yearning vocals, and an overall creepy vibe to go along with some truly heavy moments and a killer wah-wah guitar solo.
Throughout the album, the high pitched vocals are somewhat in the classic Ozzy era Sabbath style, and fit the doom style the band is trying to convey. Loads and loads of fat riffing is the name of the game though on The Last Neanderthal, as these songs just push all the right doomy buttons. I'm digging this one mightily, and if you like this sort of thing, seek this album out immediately.
Track Listing
- Shadow Earth
- Nine Princes in Amber
- Bad Trip
- Son of Sisyphus
- Soulless Woman
- Warpath
- White Plume Mountain
- The Hermit
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