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After the stripped-down ode to Sabbath that was Evil Deeds in 2012, Sweden’s The Graviators revealed their lust for macabre sounds of the 70s on a dusty analogue recording, brought to life with some hocus-pocus swagger and blazing wah-wah pedal play.

Motherload continues with the ominous vibe of its predecessor but with added snarl and a stronger message. Niklas Sjöberg’s vocals echo the ominous nature of Pentagram’s Bobby Liebling while the rhythms quickly pick up the pace and end up sounding more like Angel Witch in places.

With the odd dash of Hammond organ and some strung-out psych jams, such as in the 11-minute opus Lost Lord, the age-old Swedish stoner/doom recipe is kept fresh… to a point. The Graviators are definitely planted in an era, which is cool, if you’re looking for no-frills groovy doom with just a sprinkling of psych.

With over 10 years’ experience writing for Metal Hammer and Prog, Holly has reviewed and interviewed a wealth of progressively-inclined noise mongers from around the world. A fearless voyager to the far sides of metal Holly loves nothing more than to check out London’s gig scene, from power to folk and a lot in between. When she’s not rocking out Holly enjoys being a mum to her daughter Violet and working as a high-flying marketer in the Big Smoke.

The Graviators: Motherload

Swedish retro-doomsters stay rooted in the past