BlackLab - Under the Strawberry Moon (2018) – In a good studio these Japanese will have no limits

Japanese bands are always a very interesting thing to listen. The country despite the rich culture has much tradition in consuming heavy music, but little in creating. When the BlackLab women's duo debuts an album that focuses on the Doom / Stoner with a Thrash footprint sung in Japanese, the interest to immerse in sound becomes genuine

Right from the start, three aspects that shaped this album can be heard. First of all is that there is no bass. Second is that the girls have talent and are not afraid to unveil an astounding aggression. Third is that the poor production greatly impaired the appreciation of sound. Black Moon inflames with a classic Sabbath´s doom cadence under an alternating Yuko's vocals alternating from serene high-pitched melodies to furious cries, but the down side is a discrete but unsettling buzz that disrupts the listening experience.This annoyance even hinders the audition of the nice fast-paced song Hidden Garden. There for the third track, when you start to get used to the production the sound begins to go down more easily. The instrumental Symptom Of The BlackLab stands out for the early 90s Thrash metal riff that Sepultura (think "Arise") knew how to do so well. His Name Is... is the one that has the most stoner vein and the greatest potential to sound good under the right conditions. The closing with Fall & Rise is the classic doom rhythmic formula, with extended melodic vocals, morbid slow riffs loaded with feelings, it could have sounded superb.

The Japanese duo is good and talented, but they need to play in a high-tech-good-sounding studio  to extravasate the aggressiveness that the sound requires and create some texture songs. When you know how to get your job done, money (or the lack of) becomes the common denominator of all problems. BlackLab for the sake of the music, just dont give up yet.

Tracklist
1.Black Moon 05:39
2.Hidden Garden 03:31
3.Spoon 06:14
4.Symptom of the BlackLab 02:19
5.Warm Death 07:05
6.His Name Is... 04:24
7.Fall & Rise 04:39

Final conclusion:

Marcelo Hissa