Belfast, Northern Ireland’s Slomatics and Stockholm, Sweden’s Domkraft, will release a new split album titled Ascend/Descend on April 22 through Majestic Mountain Records. I wrote the liner notes for it. I was asked to do so, and how could I not? The story goes that the two trios met at Psycho Las Vegas 2017 — in the Before-Time — and hit it off. Which isn’t really much of a surprise. I’ve met these dudes for real life and they’re pretty nice guys. If they can get along with a jerk like me, it’s not really a wonder they’d have an easy time hanging out with each other.

So anyhow, the liner notes thing — easy peasy. Pretty much any day I get to write about Domkraft or Slomatics is a boon, as far as I’m concerned. And they do share some aesthetic tendencies. Big riffs, big spaces, howling vocals. All of that shows up on Ascend/Descend, across six tracks and 36 minutes of dense-tone nod and future-vibing atmospheres. Domkraft get three songs, Slomatics get three songs, and each band finishes their side with a cover of the other. Domkraft take on Slomatics‘ “And Yet it Moves” (premiering below) and Slomatics do Domkraft‘s “Dustrider” — both signature pieces. Both are clearly treated with respect.

After the original “The Core Will Pull You Home” opens by setting the standard for largesse and groove peppered with frenetic, undervalued, psychedelic soloing, Domkraft‘s middle piece, the shorter cover of Stereolab‘s “The Brush Descends the Length” brings a moodier vibe that, if they don’t actually put the song on their next record, makes me hope they write another one that happens mysteriously to sound just like it. They back that with the shove of “And Yet it Moves,” the title of which is as efficient a summation of the miracle of Slomatics‘ sound as I’ve ever heard. This massive thing… and yet it moves. Domkraft blow it out, and the effect is, frankly, killer. Their underlying punk-noise spirit comes through the early verses and the midsection crashing, and the open-space payoff for all that tension is raw to a point of well earning its feedback finish.

Already, Ascend/Descend is a no-brainer. Honestly, if it was a standalone EP from either of these bands, as a fan of their work, I’d be on board. New Domkraft? New Slomatics? Win. The latter’s side is a couple minutes shorter, but Slomatics bring out the lumber immediately on “Positive Runes,” and slog-march through the first half of the eight-minute piece with a grueling answer to Domkraft‘s “The Brush Descends the Length,” the slow-rolling movement of its second-half build all the more grandiose for the synth layered in. The shorter “Buried Axes on Regulus Minor” is likewise slow and tense, breaking to near-silence before exploding in chug to carry back to a chorus tinged with classic doom. It’s a relative uptick in tempo that arrives in their version of Domkraft‘s “Dustrider,” but the ambience in the back half, drifting finish and all, keeps consistent with Slomatics‘ own tracks.

These two bands have a fair amount in common, and the Ascend/Descend ideology is emblematic of the dynamic that’s shared between them. I can’t remember if I said that in the liner notes or not. I hope so. In any case, those with the tendency to think of splits as friendly competition between two acts will likely come out of this one stymied. There’s a clear victor here, but if you’re through the release and you think it’s anyone other than you, you need to go back and listen again. Not a hardship.

Pleasure and an honor to premiere Domkraft‘s “And Yet it Moves.” PR wire info and preorder link follow.

Enjoy:

DOMKRAFT and SLOMATICS Join Forces for Split Album on MAJESTIC MOUNTAIN RECORDS

Pre-order – https://majesticmountainrecords.bigcartel.com/product/domkraft-slomatics-ascend-descend

Majestic Mountain Records is thrilled to announce the official release of Ascend/Descend, a brand-new split album from two titans of underground rock industry: Belfast-based bruisers, SLOMATICS, and Stockholm’s psychedelic sludgers, DOMKRAFT.

Having first met at Psycho Las Vegas in 2017, both bands have since developed an unmistakable kinship; a sonic connection carved out over the years through occasional collaborations, shared jam spaces, vested interests, and a profound love of all things heavy. There is no question that in this instance, three is the magic number as both sets of trios enter a trifecta of sizeable trade-off with the help of esteemed Stockholm label, Majestic Mountain Records.

“I’ve followed Domkraft since the release of their self-titled EP in 2015 and have been hooked ever since,” explains MMR’s Marco Berg. “We live in the same city and whenever we would meet up, talk would usually turn to Slomatics. Like Domkraft, they are legends, so to finally be able to do something special together, on my label, is an absolute dream come true.”

Make no mistake that Ascend/Descend is an incredibly gargantuan sounding album on all fronts. As well as blazing a trail with plenty of crushing new material, each has a stab at the other’s work with Domkraft covering Slomatics’ ‘And Yet It Moves’, and Slomatics returning the riffs with a searing cover of Domkraft’s splendid ‘Dustrider’.

Despite their inherent differences in terms of style and approach, what Ascend/Descend showcases is a deep reverence and platonic power. There’s something almost palpable that permeates the grooves. If you dig the cosmic dirges of Domkraft, you’re going to freak. If you choose to worship at the altar of Slomatics, strap yourselves in. If you’re truly in thrall to both bands, well, this is where things are going to get interesting.

Ascend/Descend is released 22nd April 2022 on Majestic Mountain Records.

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Tags: Ascend/Descend, Belfast, Domkraft, Majestic Mountain Records, Northern Ireland, Slomatics, Slomatics Domkraft Ascend/Descend, Stockholm, Sweden

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