CoC : Laudanum - The Coronation : Review

Laudanum - _The Coronation_
(20 Buck Spin, 2009)
by: Jeremy Ulrey (7.5 out of 10)

Possessed of a lumbering, glacial malevolence, Laudanum hail from the unlikely clime of sunny Oakland, California, a simmering doom-sludge quartet slowly (would they have it any other way?) making a name for themselves with _The Coronation_ -- their second full-length following a split with Stormcrow (USA) in April and a debut album back in 2004. The band favor mounting atmospheric dread, building to a rolling boil then exploding into a hate filled monument to suppressed rage. The greater proportion of _The Coronation_ consists of these ambient, textural pieces, and as such may not make much of an initial impression on the neophyte listener. Stick with it... the textural interstices are less aimless and more fully developed than those of many of their peers. "Autumn Ghosts" perpetually threatens to boil over but finishes with restraint; whereas album closer "Apotheosis" spends 8 out of 11 minutes on plinking electronics before finally finishing with a colossal riff-fest. That Laudanum can at times be guilty of taking too long to get to the point is a valid criticism, but the pieces are in place for the band's rapid ascent in the sludge / doom realm.

Contact: http://laudanum.org

(article published 24/12/2009)