Canterbury doom band, Famyne’s first, and self-titled EP is far from the retro tendencies that inevitably spring to mind when talking about doom. All three tracks might exhibit strong 70’s and 80’s elements, you’d have to be deaf to not hear Black Sabbath in the menacing build-up of opening track ‘Enter the Sloth’ but this old-school riffing is paired with a modern production job which ensures Famyne sound like far more than just a throwback.
As a debut ‘Famyne’ does its job. ‘Enter the Sloth’ and ‘Tower’ are magnificent slabs of heavy metal. Crushing riffs paired with some haunting vocal lines propel the first two thirds of the EP along. There’s even a Machine Head-lite moment in the mid-section of ‘Enter the Sloth’ where the full-frontal assault lessens for a minute to build into a final grind through to the finish. Simplicity is where Famyne are in their element. With just one or two killer riffs a song the first two tracks never become mired in complexities although possibly the weakest of the three, ‘The Forgotten’ forgoes this direct simplicity with a very extended song structure with the bass guitar taking a much more prominent role for large section.
For the most part, however, ‘Famyne’ is a great and fresh take on a genre that seems to constantly looks backwards. Famyne’s sound is firmly established and offers plenty of space to grow and develop on the strength of this first release.
Famyne is released on November the 6th and physical copies will feature a bonus track called ‘Long Lost Winter.’
