Welcome to dune sea, fellow traveler. This is planet Arrakis, and there's a threat called sandworms. They are attracted to rhythmic vibrations on the surface, so when playing 'Children of the Erg', you are basically fucked. Beware the Shai-Hulud.

Polish doom metal band Sandbreaker's tertiary outburst is their sophomore EP release. The music is still something like Cathedral and Reverend Bizarre played slower and thus, heavier, and this time there's a slight yet very much tangible portion of death metal infused in. It appears in forms of inhuman, wormy growled vocals and some riffing that reside somewhere between doom and death. The pace of the music is so slow that it makes songs feel twice as long. The songwriting is simplistic, although there are interesting bits and bops that pop up without expectation. This could also bend some space time, for all I know, because mostly it is so gravitational in several ways.

This is easily the heaviest matter the band have put out to date, and certainly catchy if one can decelerate his/her brain activity. As mentioned, this is like half-speed groovy doom/heavy/death metal. Every instrument and vocals vibrate heavily and embody huge amount of movement energy. Airy guitar sounds and sound effects widen the sound spectrum, and does that fine. They often feel eerie and weird. The production is totally organic.

So, the band have sticked to their lyrical theme, which is Frank Herbert's "Dune" saga. They definitely timed their releases well, when thinking about the new "Dune" movie... This is already the band's third output since debuting with an EP in 2019. I feel this one is their most coherent and monolithic release up to date, completed with some of their catchiest songs. If you want sturdy and a bit "out there" doom/heavy/death metal, you should check this one out immediately. But remember: Beware the Shai-Hulud. Or your neighbours...

Rating: 7½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
11/16/2021 20:57