Whilst Poland is currently leading the charge when it comes to various strands of extreme metal, it might not be your first thought when thinking of stoner and doom. Well it’s time to think again because Warsaw’s Smoke Rites have been making the world a heavier place since their formation in 2020. An EP (The Rite Of The Smoke, 2021) and an LP (Total Lung Capacity, 2022) followed in quick succession and found the band honing their deliciously dark sound into a red hot beam. A period of inactivity followed, but now Smoke Rites are back with their sophomore album, Eager Eyes Of Talion, an eight track album that pushes their sound into new realms of heaviness and should propel the band towards the biggest stages.

Smoke Rites have a sound so heavy that it should really come with some kind of warning: “abandon hope all ye who enter”, and opening track ‘Golden Road’ acts as a caution to the curious. From a low key introduction that finds wind whistling around an elephantine bassline, ‘Golden Road’ soon morphs into a monolithic beast and one that fills every cubic inch of space. The riffs that spew from Łukasz Borawski’s guitar are fuzzed-up and scuzzy and drunk on their own distortion, whilst the rhythm section of Michał Kamiński (drums) and Adam Ziółkowski (bass) lock in tightly to deliver a groove that swings with wrecking ball force. Vocalist Tomasz Mielnik has a gargley, throaty rasp that brings to mind Fucked Up’s Damian Abraham, adding an air of authority and depth to proceedings; his voice becomes an instrument in itself as he breathes fire and turns every word into a polemical treatise. As you’d imagine, when four such strong personalities combine their talents, the result are songs such as ‘Nothing Never’, crushing cuts that swing from speaker to speaker with the intent to cause maximum carnage.

If I’ve made Smoke Rites out to be a heavy band, and one whose weight cannot quite be calculated, that’s precisely because they are. However, they are more than just sonic terrorists stupefying the listener with sound; this quartet have a good understanding of musical dynamics and are wise enough to insert plenty of white space into their songs, micro seconds of serenity highlight and enhance the heavier sections; the lithe and weighty become a mirror with which to contrast the other. Although they work in different spheres, the aesthetic Smoke Rites have achieved with this album is similar to Godflesh’s Streetcleaner. However, there’s a supremely Satanic edge to Eager Eyes Of Talion, tracks such as ‘10 Ft Dread’ make it feel dangerous spinning this disc, as if the very act of doing so could conjure the Devil himself.

Reaching an atomic-collision of a conclusion with ‘Wind Of Most Cruel Kind’, Eager Eyes Of Talion makes for an unforgettable experience, but when the songs are this good, there was no danger of them being forgotten

• Eager Eyes Of Talion is self-released and is available now.

• Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube Channel

Track List:

1. Golden Road

2. Eager Eyes Of Talion

3. Nothing Never

4. 10 Ft Dread

5. Death Is A Five Letter Word

6. Charas Drift

7. The Devil’s Advocate

8. Wind Of Most Cruel Kind