Wall - Wall EP

Labels: APF Records

Formats: CD/Digital

Release Date: 15 Jan 2021

Tracklist:

1. Wrath Of The Serpent

2. Sonic Mass

3. Obsidian

4. Legion

5. Electric Funeral (Black Sabbath cover)

Bloody writer's block hit me right before I started this post. Thankfully, by writing about said struggles, I've been able to overcome them (however small and insignificant they are in the grand scheme of things). That brings me onto instrumental sludge/doom duo Wall and their debut EP. Wall began as a lockdown project, as the brothers that make up the band were growing increasingly restless about the lack of touring and playing live gigs. What came out of that frustration was this five-track EP, which was released by APF Records in mid-January. I forgot to mention that it includes a Black Sabbath cover too!

I’ve been listening to a lot more straight-up noise recently and the opening bars of ‘Wrath Of The Serpent’ reminds me of how my listening tastes have broadened of late. That said, I still reach for sludge and doom more often as well. Wall presents their take on both sub-genres in a way that fits the palettes of many metal fans. Hints of slowness coupled with heavy metal and thrash. I guess it should be unsurprising given their collective musical backgrounds in Desert Storm et al. 

Musically, this EP is incredibly tight and ‘Sonic Mass’ is more than befitting of it’s name with plenty of volume and an ability to captivate you as a listener with melody, and no-holds-barred heavy groove. There’s no time for politeness or progressive noodling here and the music is all the better for it. ‘Obsidian’ is ridiculous and really shines thanks to the EP’s recording, mastering and just the sheer volume of the music. The riffs are fantastic and coupled with the low-end grunt, and percussive accuracy, you won’t be reaching for anything else. The songs on Wall are not long in the true sludge/doom sense but there’s more than enough reason to rock and roll, which is good enough for me!.

Penultimate song ‘Legion’ is an urgent slab of heavy groove that’s incredibly well performed and upbeat. Heck, we all need an uplift right now and here is where you’ll find it. I really can’t do this release enough justice with words alone, you’ll need to listen to it for yourselves to understand what I mean. Wall close the EP out with their cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘Electric Funeral’, which features vocals from Dave-O of The Grand Mal, of which the Cole brothers are founding members. It’s a really good take on a classic while also being true to the sound. The vocals are very captivating and overall it’s a fine way to end this EP. 

This is an epic EP from a band that will hopefully produce more as time goes on. If that doesn’t come to fruition though, at least you can jam this over and over again, as it’s infectious nature will cry out for repeat listens. Excuse my over the top enthusiasm for this release but I just really enjoyed it!

You can stream and purchase the EP both on cd, and digitally below:-

Wall - https://www.facebook.com/wallukrock/

You can also pick up cd copies from APF Records here - https://www.apfrecords.co.uk/

APF Records - https://www.facebook.com/apfrecords