I'm watching The Shining as I listen to Gog's EP for the first time and the music is matching up at the moment (which is awesome). A creepy high-pitched sound is slowly building up, just like Kubrick's film. The band's label, Sounds of Battle and Souvenir Collecting, says on its website, "[We are] dedicated to experimental, drug/metal, art-doom, and drone." Keep this in mind as you read the review, as Noriah Mills is the very first release for Sounds of Battle.
So far, I'm four minutes and seven seconds into the first of two tracks and there's still only the one high-pitched tone rising and falling slowly (Jack Torrance screams in a nightmare at his desk). I'm thinking I should've smoked a little before putting this album in my CD player
"Hovering Mills," the first track just ended, never changing from that one fluctuating, solitary pitch. Track two, "Noriah Mills," presents a distorted guitar droning for just over two and a half minutes, three minutes, four minutes and counting (Jack Torrance enters room 237, delirious and hallucinating).
Gog's EP isn't incredibly entertaining thus far, but I'd be very amused if I was listening to the band play the songs live. Drone isn't appreciated until enjoyed live. At eight minutes, layers of guitar are added and a drummer starts teasing with snare and tom hits. Finally, at eleven minutes and forty-odd seconds the instruments come together to play a trudging rhythm. This rhythm repeats over and over while fuzzy guitar tones are added on top (Danny yells, "REDRUM!" repeatedly).
If you like drone, you'll enjoy this ambitious EP. The only problem with it is that you will zone out to Noriah Mills and, if your stereo is loud enough, nearby listeners will be engulfed as well. I looked into the Sounds of Battle and Souvenir Collecting website and it seems as though Gog has two more releases, an unidentified album and a split album. I'm going to find out more about Gog and check out the other artists on the Arizona label, too. For now, I'll continue watching The Shining and pretend drone bands are playing the score.
See also
Earth, "Stoner Doom"
