Drune – Drown

With all the rising acts that are out there for us to lose our minds over, there will always be a few that slip through the crack for plenty with just as many lucky enough to bear witness to that very greatness. When it came to Drune, I was pleasantly surprised to see the sludge trio get more than a little attention after the release of their self-titled not even two years ago. A massive presence that offered more than enough room for growth while never once missing out on an opportunity for quality intensity, Drune set themselves upon a path that was sure to lead them to a future where they reigned tall over the competition. For their newest effort, Drune only travels further down that road.

It is a tremendously tricky thing to get across a solid body of work in just two tracks, but there isn’t a single style out there that I feel is constantly up to the task more than that of doom, especially when it comes into contact with all things sludgy. You could look to any number of pieces for proof of that concept with Drune providing the most recent example of that will that they’ve brought to the table with “Drown” not just showing us how it’s done, but that now, more than ever before, Drune is not a name that is to be underestimated. Their sense of scale and heaviness is a key part of what made them a real sight to behold with the pair of tracks here having more than enough weight and power to keep the listener rooted in place and entranced by the world that is woven before their very eyes. In a world where you’re pulled through the crust of the very earth where the dead wade in a lake as they seek to uncover the mysteries that plague life itself as they go through their own journeys away from that realm they’re obsessed with, “Drown” paints a picture of a realm that touches upon themes of loss, grief, and anger of all that was and can never be recovered as we trudge onward in our own lives as the riffs and atmospheres of Drune’s sound pushes us down our own paths. A representation of what Drune is as well as what the members of the band have gone through since we last heard from them, “Drown” may not seem to have much to it at first glance, but these twenty-seven minutes are quick to pull you down in your foolishness and show you who’s boss.

Of all the names out there that are finding themselves getting attention as their catalogs grow, Drune is one that I’m very keen to keep a sharp eye on. For all intents and purposes, Drune’s brand of sludgy doom is far from anything that can be considered earth-shatteringly new by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s because of works like “Drown” that I am all but compelled to come back on a regular basis as it is everything that I’ve heard so far that has yet to let me down with this EP being but the latest in that trend of excellence. The future is still incredibly bright for Drune with all that they’ve delivered thus far, and they show no signs of wavering yet.

LISTEN to “Drown” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Drune on Facebook here.