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Tortuga - Deities review




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7.14
Band: Tortuga
Album: Deities
Release date: January 2020


01. Shining Sphere
02. Esoteric Order
03. For Elizard
04. Defective Mind Transfer
05. Black Pharaoh II
06. Trip
07. Galeón De Manila

This is probably the grooviest Lovecraft metal album I've ever heard.

Yes, as you may have guessed from the album cover of Deities, the Polish Tortuga are fans of the good ol' Howard Phillips. Whereas most metal I've crossed with dealing with Lovecraftian subject matter tends to be dark, hypnotic, and vortex-like, Tortuga go in a considerably different direction, playing neither dreamlike atmospheric black metal nor swirling hallucinogenic death metal, but rather a more relaxed, lulling brand of crunchy stoner jamz. Packed with fat, spacious melodies and wave after wave of riffs, what Deities may be lacking in aggression it more than makes up for with a warm, inviting, and overall fun atmosphere.

A first spin of this album may leave a little to be desired on the originality factor, as Tortuga aren't really bringing anything that new to the realm of stoner metal, but all things considered this is a pretty minor issue when one considers the overall quality of Tortuga's songwriting. About midway through, the powerful riffage, the jammy, quasi psychedelic aura, and the soaring vocals all really start to set in for a pretty catchy, memorable experience, especially on "For Elizard" and "Black Pharaoh II." Additionally the production here has a very nice degree of fuzziness to it, which sort of serves to create something of a hazy, underwater feeling throughout. Intentional or not, it definitely serves to reinforce the Lovecraftian themes.

Released on the first day of the first month of the year, Deities is the first thing doom related to have considerably impressed me in 2020. While not groundbreaking in terms of innovation, it is quite an enjoyable listen from start to finish and one in which the riffs are only more likely to get cemented in one's head with each subsequent listen. While most Lovecraft influenced metal seems to go in a direction of chronicling the horrors of HP's mythos and his various cosmic entities, Deities offers a more lighthearted, playful story, perhaps a tale of one day the homies Cthulhu, Azathoth, and Nyarlathotep spent lazing on the couch watching TV in R'lyeh. It's definitely a different alternative to what we're normally accustomed to with Lovecraft metal, but quite a satisfying one at that!

Crack open a Shoggoth with the boys.






Written on 20.01.2020 by Metal Storm’s own Babalao. Comforting the disturbed and disturbing the comfortable since 2013.


Comments

Comments: 3   Visited by: 111 users
20.01.2020 - 05:52
Rating: 7
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
A Lovecraftian stoner rock record? What's next? Lovecraftian mumble rap?
----
Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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20.01.2020 - 14:03
Auntie Sahar
Drone Empress
Written by RaduP on 20.01.2020 at 05:52

What's next? Lovecraftian mumble rap?

We can only dream
----
I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go.

~ II. VII
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20.01.2020 - 14:12
Rating: 7
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Written by Auntie Sahar on 20.01.2020 at 14:03

Written by RaduP on 20.01.2020 at 05:52

What's next? Lovecraftian mumble rap?

We can only dream

*bass boost and 808s*
I pop em pills im like cthulhu
I pop em pills im like cthulhu
Yall frail minds cant comprehend me
I pop em pilld im like cthulhu
Yuh
----
Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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