Death Valley Dragline - Beyond the Sunn Review
by Matt Hensch
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A long time ago in a sh*tty bar far from civilization, I saw Death Valley Dragline live, acting as a local opener for High on Fire. Overall, my consensus of the band was pretty low: generic music, bland stage-presence, and not much power. However, my thoughts were wrong, because Beyond the Sunn does not self-destruct; rather it is an interesting cut that attacks poorness within the southern metal/groove identities. Death Valley Dragline wastes no time waiting for the hunt, instead charging right in as their quasi-Down influence leads this young pack into pleasant chambers and smoky anthems that prove these gentlemen have some talent among their ranks.
Groove metal glued on Southern rock's back is not what I consider a very likeable sound, and with good reasoning: no creativity, lackluster guitar work, minimal variation
the list goes on. However, Death Valley Dragline shines more light upon this nature that could cause happy nods and enjoyment. The riffing style finds safety within Southern-like chops, more or less flirting with groove influences during several intervals, but also very different. You will hear several patterns almost driving off into unchartered territories quite amusingly, which creates a rare sense of originality within Death Valley Dragline. The band's vocalist is really the only individual lacking some highly-original foundation; I would say he sounds like a typical singer found in this field, but with minimal consequences. No educated individual could label Beyond the Sunn a Pantera-tribute record, because they have obtained impressive riffs, solos, percussion measures, vocals, and general situations boasting the group away from that kind of criteria.
As expected, you probably will not be able to detect much variety while traveling through Beyond the Sunn, yet the issue is not anything destructive, but is, of course, quite lacking. Groove chops here and there for eight songs fails to add magical color within Death Valley Dragline's niche, even though they perform sensationally better than most participating in this identity. However, there is only one slice that truly fails on all aspects: "Lies." Sorry guys, but those whiny chimes and modernized choruses are not doing much for me. Still, I can find nothing else to bitch about, so what do we have?
Easy answer: good, old-fashioned Southern/groove with seventeen balls.Many critics would hunt this number like a vulture, but as a wolf among the flock, I can verify Death Valley Dragline provides the fundamental nutrients needed for proper production when growing plants of the groove/Southern farm. More importantly, these guys have some interesting weapons hidden in their jackets, making Death Valley Dragline an underground force that ironically does some good justice towards this nice full-length record. There is not much coming from the occasional mainstream numbers, but Beyond the Sunn makes a statement about groove metal's attitude, and generally is one of the better items this vague genre has created.
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Death Valley Dragline - Beyond the Sunn Rating:7.0
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