Haggatha
Haggatha is a sludge/stoner metal band from Vancouver (hey, I live there!). I’ve only lived here about six months so haven’t seen them live, but they are playing a show coming up so that could change. Sludge/Doom is my favourite genre and Vancouver is my favourite city, so these guys have to be pretty awesome to live up to my expectations. Vancouver is pretty much the North American equivalent of Amsterdam, so why New Orleans has a better stoner metal scene than we do is beyond me. I’m pretty excited to listen to these guys, they better be good.
They have one EP released in 2009, self-titled, with two songs. The Myspace has one of the songs from the EP, “Bad Blood” plus another one, “Gulag”. ”Bad Blood” is a 13 minute epic song reminiscent of Pentagram or Crowbar. They have a really similar guitar tone to EHG minus the feedback. The vocals are nothing like EHG, Pentagram or Crowbar though. In terms of the production, the vocals seem very much below the guitar and bass in terms of the mix, and are thankfully not the first thing you notice. This is 13 minutes of pure slow, heavy sludge the way it should be. I would have been happy with a bit more melody worked in at some point instead of slow, droning riffing, but this definitely has a New Orleans feel to it.
“Gulag”, the second song, is pretty much an extension of the first song, until about 4 minutes in, then it gets more interesting and varied. I like the drumming because it aids the song but isn’t annoying or intrusive and doesn’t mess up the important part, which is heavy heavy heavy riffs, the core of any good sludge song.
Sludge and Doom are an acquired taste, but once you’ve acquired it, it’s hard to get enough of that tone. I hope that there is enough of an audience for them in the northwest here to allow them to make a full length, and when they do, I hope they do a bit more with it than these two songs. They have some vinyl so I might pick one up, I bet my southern friends wouldn’t be able to tell they’re Canucks. I loved this. I’m so predictable.
I really liked “Bad Blood”, but felt “Gulag” went on for too long. I’m not opposed to long songs, but it seems that “Gulag” immediately got to the point and then just dawdled from there.
I hope you don’t mind, o’ unforgiving tyrant, but I’m rather hell-bent on joining you on your journey.
There is room for one more!
You’re paddling, though.