Naam
Naam

Naam, "name" in Sanskrit. With this bizarre moniker, these 4 Americans led by the good Ryan Lugar enter the doom metal scene with this first self-titled full-length. A band not to be underestimated, despite being part of the very crowded lineup of semi-seventies stoner doom groups, because under such guises, Naam hides good cards just waiting to be played, so prepare the filters, clean the bong, and follow me!

The album starts with a small atmospheric sample, then replaced by booming chords, signaling the start of "Kingdom," the first song of the record, which then begins with a traditional acidic and powerful doom riff, surrounded by a powerful bass, beautiful keyboard and sitar textures in the first half of the song, and the beautiful voice of the two singers, as Lugar is also joined on vocals by bassist John Bundy, giving life to small choruses placed in strategic positions in the songs, including this one. This extends for the entire duration of the cyclopean track, a good 16 minutes, moving from moments of pure calm to parts where the song's name is repeated in a monotone voice under cadenced rhythms, and everything ends fading into oriental and acidic atmospheres.

Then we move on to "Stone Tomb," practically 2 minutes of oriental-style percussion, which leads us to 2 classical and at times fast-paced pieces, "Skyling Slip" and "Fever if Fire."

Then comes Tidal Barrens: 4 minutes of hallucinogenic atmospheres perfectly supported by a melodic bass arpeggio, an acid but at the same time dreamy keyboard, almost absent drums except for some bursts, and a melodic, delicate yet powerful voice. This piece is so dreamy and calm that you could use it as a lullaby for a baby!

A small guitar arpeggio warns us of the arrival of "Icy Row," a powerful and at the same time oriental piece, which initially settles on rocking rhythms, then speeds up to more sustained velocities, then slows down and accelerates again in an acid but not at all annoying up-and-down, quite the contrary!

After "Westered Wash," a beautiful composition of keyboard and Middle Eastern instruments, we move on to "Frosted Tread," undoubtedly the most "classic" song on the album, which with its 9-minute duration transports us through infinite deserts thanks to seventies and massive yet melodic riffs, and above all to dreamy vocals, in this piece also accompanied by a female voice towards the last minutes of the track.

A minute of "windy" keyboards, "Windy Gates" (indeed), makes us fly towards the last track of the album "Black Ice," the most powerful and bizarre piece of the album. In 7 minutes, this boulder pulls together hallucinogenic atmospheres, heavy guitars, a thundering bass, and above all, reveals a trump card from the band thrown down towards the middle of the track... something no one would ever expect from a Doom Metal album... a blast beat... A BLAST BEAT. IN A DOOM PIECE! OK!! The whole is alternated with riffing that becomes very heavy towards the end, and especially sick and almost screamed vocals that remain clean throughout (unlike Electric Wizard, with Jus Oborn who nearly reaches a scream towards the end of Funeralopolis), and everything then concludes with unbelievably hallucinogenic echoes that fade, fade, and fade towards the end of the track, and also of the album.

So, what to say about "Naam"? Let's say it's not an album for everyone, especially for those who rarely tolerate albums with certain atmospheres, especially this one, which is perhaps one of the purest and "soaked" examples of Stoner Doom, in the sense that it very much focuses on atmospheres, also given by the various skits present in the album, well 3 (which seem few, but together they form a duration of a good 6 minutes). However, if you are die-hard fans of the heavier, more powerful and acidic Stoner, I absolutely recommend it to you; it is a powerful, acidic album, and above all soaked with oriental and desert atmospheres from beginning to end. At the end of this album, you will feel hot, very hot... too hot... rather... if during listening you feel wet, you're not sweating... the speakers are sweating!