Soon – Vol. 1

Soon is not the re-united Belgium emo band from the early 00’s. Soon is playing Doom Metal created by ex-Indie pop musicians. That is at least what the biography is telling me. In practice the Doom factor is only found in the heavy guitars. The band from North-Carolina is combining Indie and Alternative Rock with sometimes very heavy guitar riffs and a slow pace. You can call this Doom Metal but it’s exaggerated. All songs are sung with poppy vocals. When thinking of traditional Doom Metal like Candlemass I think about the grandeur of Heavy Metal vocals and these are not on ‘Vol. 1’.

Eight songs in 35 minutes with the pop structures always on the forefront; you actually can tell this is pop music in a heavy jacket. I don’t see the problem. In the beginning of the record Soon is more focused on the groove like you hear in “Burning Wood” and “See You Soon”. In “Gold Soul” and ‘Mauveine” a cello enters the room and the ghost of The Black Heart Rebellion (“Gold Soul”) and Woven Hand (“Mauveine”) is close by.

The power of the material is hidden in psychedelic repeating textures that will continue into pop arrangements with the beautiful vocals of guitarist/vocalist Stuart McLamb. One of the best examples is “Datura Stramonium”. In the end of the song there are (again) Country noir influences on the horizon. The psychedelic character is also visualized in the paintings of Christopher Duis that are all over the digipack.

With some imagination you can call Soon the Deftones on a psychedelic trip. Both bands have in common how brilliant they use the dynamics between heavy riffs and melodic wavered alternative rock. Vocally the voice of Big Business front man Jared Warren is around; especially in the last song “Rise” this type of vocals enlighten the buzzing heavy guitar drones that continue until the endless void.

Soon has written an interesting debut that is connecting several genres, has catchy songs but also feels like a laid-back dynamical jam session.

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