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Irata: Tower
Tower is the latest Small Stone release from North Carolina four-piece heavy rock unit Irata, the band recently adding a second guitar player to beef up their sound a bit as they move into more psychedelic, stoner directions. Lots of pummeling riffs to be found on Tower, with the title cut and "Waking Eye" kicking things off in fine fashion as the band twist & turn through proggy arrangements mixed with boiling psychedelia and a doom laden vibe. "Weightless" is one of the more intriguing tracks here, rampant with fat riffs but also chock full of soaring Janes Addiction meets Mastodon vocal passages. The longest track is "Innocent Murmur", a melodic slice of psych/prog/stoner with some catchy vocals and plenty of light & shade textures, while "Leviathan" offers up some lethal riffs and complex arrangements, the comparisons to Mastodon again apparent. Irata again show their penchant for bringing together intricate prog with crushing stoner riffing on the haunting closer "Constellations", another 6+ minute track that also has a lot to offer the listener.
Much more than just your normal stoner rock/metal album, Tower contains plenty of musical elements that cross a few different genres, and judging by this release, Irata are going to be a band that I'd advise you to keep a close eye on for the foreseeable future.
Track Listing
1. Tower 02:45
2. Waking Eye 05:56
3. Weightless 04:20
4. Innocent Murmur 06:26
5. Leviathan 05:10
6. Crawl To Corners 04:36
7. Golden Tongue 03:49
8. Constellations 06:04
Added: February 1st 2020 Reviewer: Pete Pardo Score: Related Link: Band Facebook Page Hits: 1509 Language: english
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Irata: Tower Posted by Jon Neudorf, SoT Staff Writer on 2020-02-01 23:40:28 My Score:
Here is another stunner from the stoner rock scene. The band is Irata, hailing from North Carolina, and have been plugging away since 2007. They released their debut Vultures in 2014 followed by Sweet Loris in 2015. In May of 2019 the band released its third platter titled Tower.
The band play heavy stoner rock and metal beginning with the hard driving title track with its intense guitar riffs and vocals setting a relentless pace. The vocals have a distant feel, half sung/half shouted and are pretty catchy. More high speed heaviness can be heard on “Waking Eye” with the guitar being used most creatively. The music slows down offering a brief respite as it ventures into calming waters soon to build up once again. The lead vocals are almost dreamlike here and the soundscape quite pretty, in contrast to the song’s initial brutal nature. More catchy vocals and riffs form the bulk of “Weightless” while soft guitar arpeggios and melodic lead vocals begin “Innocent Murmur” supplemented with fuzzy riffs. The song builds in intensity and the drumming of Jason Ward is excellent but really this is quite a lovely ballad. Irata is a band of great contrast, one moment very heavy, the next quite melodically pleasing with softer guitar and vocal phrasings. It’s back to heavy guitar chugging on the blistering “Leviathan”, another fine slice of stoner metal. Ethereal trumpet marks the opening of the moody “Crawl To Corners” proving this band is anything but one dimensional.
If you enjoy bands like Mastodon, Seer and The Ossuary, Irata should be right up your wheel house. Visit Small Stone Records to learn more.
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