Aquilonian and Sollubi: Two Great Heavy Flavors, One Very Packed Disc
Notable apart from its hour-plus length for being the first recorded output of the post-Bongzilla project Aquilonian, who’ve been threatening for a while now with MySpace samples and teases of the like, this split CD between them and Ohio sludge demons Sollubi (whose previous At War with Decency full-length might just have been victorious in its conflict) is two tracks — one from each band, each over a half-hour long — that seems to create an economy all its own. If you’ve ever thought of buying music in terms of “bang for your buck,” I fail to see a better option than getting two short LP-length offerings from these bands. Most splits feel like throwaway tracks. This feels like home.
Aquilonian go first, which given the built-in interest that will no doubt lead many to check out this split is only proper. The duo of guitarist/vocalist Michael Makela and drummer/vocalist Michael Henry (though neither is particularly busy in the vocal department) have composed “Symphonica de Levita” for the occasion, and with it they put on a master class in how to transpose a groove on top of repetitive riffing. Anyone expecting Bongzilla-type grime will be surprised to find Aquilonian residing in a different, less sludge-laden niche, as though all the stoner in the band was distilled to its essential weedian elements. “Symphonica de Levita” reminds heavily of Sleep’s Holy Mountain, but even more than Makela’s tone or vocals, it’s the drum work of Henry that provokes the association. The ready snare taps that Chris Hakius used to make the best material on that album as memorable as it is, Henry seems apt to employ here, and it works to similar effect. The simplicity of their groove is essential, and even when the track breaks down at about 24 minutes in, it is all the more satisfying when it picks up again to finish with some of its most active guitar/drum interplay.
With “The Struggle,” Sollubi hit harder and meaner, as you’d expect given the pure nastiness of their nature. The recordings aren’t necessarily congruous — there is a jump in volume between Aquilonian’s piece and Sollubi’s — but neither is it so outrageously different. Sollubi are slow and pissed, and over the 36-plus-minutes of “The Struggle,” they are not shy in showing it off. The four-piece — Jesse Kling (vocals), Chris Griffith (guitar), Scott “Wizard” Stearns (bass) and Corey Bing (drums) — are nightmarishly heavy in their execution. Kling does more vocalizing than did either Makela or Henry on “Symphonica de Levita,” but with a work of this magnitude, extended instrumental passages are par for the course and almost necessary. Were there to be lyrics over this whole thing, it would have to be The Iliad. Instead, Kling’s rage feels well placed within the confines of where it lays, and “The Struggle” winds up an easy piece for the listener to lose themselves within, which feels like the intent given the hypnotic pacing and rarity of changes. Its thundering heaviness is not everlasting, though, and for nearly its last 12-13 minutes, the song devolves into little more than abrasive (not inappropriately so) noise and feedback. Somehow, it’s a fitting end.
Whether you tackle the Aquilonian/Sollubi split because of your curiosity about the former’s relation to Bongzilla (as I did), or because you’d like Sollubi to reach into your ears and claw apart your brain, you can’t lose with this split. Again, I rarely think of these things as essential, but given its context — and more than that, the satisfying reality of listening to the thing — I’m not sure what higher recommendation I can give it. Both bands deliver exceedingly accomplished underground stoner metal, Sollubi’s Stearns having also handled the terrifying artwork, and where most splits leave me feeling that something is lacking, this one is doubly complete. Kudos all around. Don’t miss it.
Tags: Aquilonian, Choking Hazard, Madison, Ohio, Sollubi, Wisconsin
This is pretty damn good. The Sollubi full length is great too.