Minus - The Great Northern Whalekill
The Icelandic metal troopers have seemingly kept themselves quiet over recent years since their appearance in the UK scene some time ago. But now they’re back with their 4th album ‘The Great Northern Whalekill’ and it’s causing controversy already. Giving a slight nod to one of the bands influences, Pantera’s ‘The Great Southern Trendkill’ the title is also a statement against the whaling situation in Iceland.
The artwork is also worth a mention as it makes use the image of a young boy, reminiscent of the Manic Street Preachers ‘Holy Bible.’
Certain stores have apparently decided not to stock the album due to its shocking appearance. All this may do however, is draw further attention to the band and the album. This is good news for Minus of course, but it is not the reason they used this image. A statement from the band reads “We have never been afraid of shocking people but the cover isn’t just to shock people but to get people to think. People can see all kinds of things; they often see what they want to see. We break down the title in front of the cover so if you look closely you will get it.”
Musically ‘The Great Northern Whalekill’ is pretty much what you’d expect. It was recorded with Joe Baressi, well-known for his work with Queens Of The Stone Age, Tomahawk and The Melvins. His work with Minus is immediately recognisable, this album takes the poppier side of stoner rock similar to the ‘Queens’ and mixes this with pure aggression and furious, gritty guitars turned all the way up. The vocals are lush, melodic and grainy; the result of a hard night on the whisky and the appropriate amount of reverb. The overall sound is absolute stoner, blues and thrash rolled into one. It’s got those groove-laden, down tuned riffs that just make it sound sexy and it’s got the perfect amount of energy and pace.
The downside to the album is the fact that apart from a few standout tracks, ‘Cat’s Eyes’, ‘Black and Bruised’ and ‘Rip It Up’ the rest of the album doesn’t really compete. The tracks somewhat merge into one long list of influences, and although they’re not bad, they’re just not jumping out at you.
I do think however that this album would be perfect for anyone that loves the rock and roll groove of ‘Queens Of The Stoneage’ but just wants something dirtier, more aggressive, and persistently heavy.