TalismanStone – Lovecraftpolis (2011)

Delivering one of the most unique and sonically crushing releases of 2011 (and we missed it then!), today we have Italy’s TalismanStone and their monumental “Lovecraftpolis” release. Comprised by 3 musicians, this outfit delivers a Sitar induced double-bass guitar aural assault that combines Pyschedelic Rock elements with Doom and Sludge into four tracks of biblical proportions. If you think this combination is weird, TalismanStone manages to pull it off graciously and crank out over 45 minutes of hypnotic music.

Opening with the Stoner/Southern Metal sounding “By The Sun of The Light Keeper”, the band establishes a very mellow and sludgy atmosphere. The bass guitars (yeah, that is right, TWO of them) replace all guitars in this track and they perfectly create that thick distortion that one would expect from a Sludge/Stoner Metal release. The female vocals courtesy of Erica Bassani are both haunting and intoxicating. However, the best part is when the trippy sitar makes its entrance to this already excellent song.

Things continue in a dark and heavy fashion in the oddly interesting “Internal Dictatorship”. This track reminds us of bands like Ides of Gemini and their Sludge/Doom distorted music. The song features some creepy male vocals that sound a bit weird in this song. The band delivers just the right amount of sitar usage in this song to keep the instrument still very enigmatic and quite well incorporated into the music without getting annoying or abusing it. The sultry female vocals greatly make this song feel at some points very Blues-like.

Pounding away at the bass guitars, “Power Is A Splendid Shroud” features the perfect mixture of harshness and dreaminess. The dreamy sitar immediately transports us to psychedelic times while being perfectly complemented by hypnotic vocals and quite unique percussions. This song by far is our favorite one in this album. The more experimental “Lovecrafttopolis (Part I)” starts a bit weird with some odd noises and unconventional percussions, slowly building up into a very eerie ritualistic vibe with clean male vocals. Once this passage with vocals is done, the band closes the track with some more sonic weirdness that is quite fitting for such a unique outfit.

Overall, “Lovecraftpolis” is one hell of a release that any fan of Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal should not miss. The band incorporates their atmospheric elements brilliantly without taking anything away from the primal rawness of their distorted bass guitars. If you like Ides of Gemini, Neurosis, Year of No Light, Ufomammut, etc. this is one album that you should try to add to your collection.

Release: November 1st, 2011

Genre: Psychedelic/Stoner/Doom Metal

Country: Italy