Drune – s/t

It’s been a long-standing tradition at this point that the tried and true magic of sludge and doom metal brought together can provide us with material that isn’t some of the heaviest that we’ve ever come across, but it can make for music that feels downright transcendent at times. In capable hands, the sound can be morphed to bring forth tremendous riffs stretched out across long expanses that are as gripping as they are unforgiving, but it’s in the hands of real masters that the listener can be left utterly stunned in place with the very weight of the album bearing down with no hope, thought, or even desire to escape. Drune has slowly drip-feeding the underground what they’re capable of with an EP and standalone single before this year, but it is with their first full-length album that Drune shows us their hand and all the immensity it bears.

I think it would be a little hasty and even possibly a tad insulting to gesture that Drune is showing us all of their tricks with this effort despite it being their very first full-length for there’s so much happening behind the curtains of the eponymous effort that it really teases the brain into believing that there has to be more to be had from Drune. Normally, it would be just a bit foolish to say such a thing about a band’s first big creation since we simply don’t know what the future holds in store, but it’s listening to this work as a whole that I cannot help but strongly feel that Drune has tapped into a particularly flavorful side of sludgy doom that manages to accomplish the goals that most strive for when performing the style while simultaneously bringing more to the table with their performance such that the self-titled album that they’ve made with significant quality here takes on a form that’s so much more than what many would consider a to-be-expected work of sludge and doom. Across an almost 50-minute runtime with just four tracks, it’s for the undeniable whole of this record that Drune delivers to us a take on the style that truly feels as though it covers a vast swathe of the style’s spectrum. Whether it be drawn-out riffs across vicious reaches of heaviness and unrelenting intensity, quicker but no less pulverizing passages that show what even just a little bit of speed can bring to this style in proper form, or stints of acoustic glory that further adds another dimension to what Drune is capable of, there is so much to be had in the confines of this massive work to the point that I truly do feel that any fan of the style will find something to latch onto in this record with the Drune’s world being all but their oyster as they’ve effortlessly opened many doors to glory, wonder, and power with this album in one fell swoop.

When a record as early on in a band’s time like this comes around to not only impress but leave the listener wanting – demanding! – more with it feeling as though no stone has been left unturned nor opportunity missed, it is the exact sort of material that cannot be ignored not simply because it doesn’t deserve such an insult but many will not want to miss whatever it is that Drune will pull next. Every move made with this record made for a truly fascinating experience of undeniable heaviness and untouchable musicianship that gave more and more as the record went on, and I cannot help but feel like we’ll be in this very same position before long so long as Drune is at large.

LISTEN to “Drune” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Drune on Facebook here.