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Smoke Mountain Premiere “Deathproof” Video from Debut LP Queen of Sin

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The opening title-track on Smoke Mountain‘s debut LP, Queen of Sin, is also its longest cut (immediate points). The Floridian three-piece will issue the album on March 27 through Argonauta Records as the follow-up to their 2017 self-titled first EP (review here), and all told, it comprises eight tracks running a concise, dirt-coated, fuzz-laden, sans-bullshit 34 minutes of doomed riffing, bedeviled lyrics and grooves that would be antisocial if they weren’t also such a party. Cultish themes pervade “Queen of Sin” and “The Master Serpent” and “Midnight Woman” and “Devil Woman,” but could hardly be considered uncalled for considering the wash of distortion from which they arise and the raw atmosphere of denim-clad fuckall they bolster. Smoke Mountain very obviously have no time for screwing around. The record gets down to business and stays down to business for the duration, its songs classic in structure and deceptive in efficiency and melody for being as outwardly gritty as they are.

Clarions to the converted pervade through “Touch the Sun” and the slow-crashing “I Walk Alone,” and “Deathproof,” which follows and for which one can see the video premiering below, brings biker imagery and VHS grain in both aural and visual realms. Smoke Mountain Queen of SinI didn’t see the Tarantino short of the same name when it came out as part of the Grindhouse feature, but he wasn’t the first to use the title either, and Smoke Mountain are likewise tapping into an obsession with ’60s and ’70s dropout/biker culture, fires burning around the hook line, “I’m deathproof till I die.” Though less Satan-minded than some of what surrounds, “Deathproof” is a fitting example of Smoke Mountain‘s penchant for songcraft that works as a steady theme across Queen of Sin along with the persistent buzz tone, and as it’s consistent in length and overall structure with much of what surrounds — “Devil Woman,” which follows, brings a speedier blast, satisfyingly proto-punk but still consistent in aesthetic ahead of the crawling closer “End of Days” — it’s as fitting an introduction as one might ask to the sort of nastiness the trio have on offer throughout their first long-player.

Counterculturalism is a welcome vibe in these heady days, and if one is looking for an escape into riffs, Queen of Sin gives a thick morass to dive into, its consuming push and echoing vocals only seeming to add to the nod that remains true regardless of an individual song’s tempo. It’s an easy one to dig, with zero pretense and zero attempt to be something it isn’t. Each half of the album closes with a slower cut and that brings a bit of Electric Wizard to the proceedings, but on the whole Smoke Mountain are working to dig out their own filthy niche, and in so doing they draw together a cast of right on songs and would-rebel-but-why-even-bother-man? vibes. If you can’t get down with that — shrug.

Fucking a.

“Deathproof” premieres below. Please enjoy:

Smoke Mountain, “Deathproof” official video premiere

“Queen of Sin is our first full-length release. It picks up where our debut EP left off, with tracks ranging from 70s-influenced stoner fuzz to slow and crushing modern doom.” The band comments. “We even tossed a post-apocalyptic biker track on there just to mix things up. This album has something for everyone.”

Florida-based occult fuzz rockers, Smoke Mountain, are set to release their hotly anticipated debut! The album, titled Queen of Sin, is slated for release on March 27th 2020 via Italy’s renowned Argonauta Records. Smoke Mountain, which is the brainchild of family members Sarah, Lee and Brian Pitt, introduced stoner and doom fans worldwide to its doomy, fuzz-drenched sound in 2017 with the release of its highly acclaimed self-titled EP. The band combines elements of vintage and modern doom to create a sound that is both current and timeless.

Smoke Mountain on Thee Facebooks

Argonauta Records website

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