Soma

WINDHAND’S debut Relapse full length is nothing short of transcendent. On its surface it is a top 5 of all time doom record, but this record is for more than just doom-metal fanatics though—this is an epic record for all fans of guitar driven rock and roll. On Soma WINDHAND successfully make syrupy slow, downtuned doom hooky and anthemic. Propelled by singer Dorthia Cottrell’s beautifully haunting bellow, WINDHAND’s dual guitar attack sounds like the glorious misfit offspring of Black Sabbath and Nirvana. An easy candidate for heavy music record of the year.

The Richmond, Va., band Windhand's second album, and first for Relapse, shows all the signs of an attempted doom metal classic. The dual guitars are enormous, the rhythm section is relentless, and the voice of Dorthia Cottrell settles over it all like a dense fog.

Windhand return with a dose of hypnotic and murky doom on their sophomore effort, Soma, named for a drink whose consumption is often described as a religious experience.

A review of Soma by Windhand, available September 17 via Relapse Records.

Before ever having actually heard Windhand, I stumbled across an ad for their first release, a self-titled released on a label called Force Field.