 
New Orleans heavyweights Down have returned with
some new material! At long last since the arrival
of 2007’s “Over The Under” we
have some fresh stuff to feast upon! After a bruising
set at last year’s Download Festival there
is still a fire burning which is excellent news!
Being a dominant force in the heavy stoner rock
scene with a very prestigious back catalogue and
a “super group” status that outmatches
most being put together of extreme metal heavyweights,
one can imagine anything new will fit the predominant
style.
From what I can feel, I just don’t feel
the raw power from the likes of “NOLA”
or “Over The Under” nor the gritty
stoner rock tone that they’ve put years
of effort into perfecting and using it to produce
heavy music, this stuff however feels much mellower
and not particularly like the band I once knew.
“The Curse” has a ringing tone but
the flat distortion is just missing and you can
feel that it should be there, very off-putting
in my opinion but it’s not just limited
to this song, its every song on the EP. The 9
minute long “Misfortune Teller” is
a bit more like it though with a bit more of an
upbeat pace and Phil’s dirty rock vocals
get their chance to shine through.
I wouldn’t really recommend this to people,
I mean if you’re a diehard Down fan and
want to own all their material fair enough and
if other huge Down fans love this material then
fair play to them, I just find myself wanting
not only more from the material I really want
the familiarity of their back catalogue, it doesn’t
even seem like a Down release apart from its few
moments.
3/5
Review By James Webb
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