Saturday 28 July 2012

TAURUS - LIFE Review


TAURUS is an Ambient/Psych/Drone/Doom Metal Band from Portland, Oregon, USA

The members are:

Stevie Floyd
Ashley Spungin

You may recognise these hugely talented musicians as they are members of two brilliant bands. Stevie is part of ace Sludge Duo – Dark Castle and Ashley used to be part of brilliant Stoner Rockers - Purple Rhinestone Eagle who sadly split last year.

Well Taurus is their new project and what a project it is. An ambient/psych/drone/doom metal band which incorporates mystical vibes into their music as well.

Taurus have just released their eagerly awaited opus – Life. A sprawling and far out there epic release which incorporates only 2 songs which runs for a mind expanding 35 minutes.

Life is more of a dark nightmarish story into your soul than an album. It’s not an easy journey to take. This release is for the more adventurous listener and not the casual listener.

The two tracks don’t have what I call a normal structure. The riffs are virtually non existent. This is music for people with the time to listen to Ambient Drone Doom Metal. It’s not an easy album to listen to. You need patience and a keen sense of experimental adventure to check out this superb album.

Life features down-tuned loud distorted guitars with slow and heavy drumming to match as well. The feedback of the music hark back to the early experimental days of BORIS.

This release is going to appeal to fans of Sunn0))) and Earth rather than the members original bands. This is probably experimental music at its most honest and raw.

Taurus throw caution to the wind and play out an epic journey filled with ambient soundscapes and strange vocal passages portray a nightmarish world of sorts. I suppose the album lives up to its title – LIFE.

As in that Life can be a very bleak place at times but if you come through it you will find many rewards from it.

The instrumental work is just amazing on this release. It was recorded live in the studio and shows what amazing musicians Stevie and Ashley are. They deserve credit for releasing something diverse as this great release.

Life is not afraid to challenge the listener’s mind or even their grip of reality to portray an ambient based masterpiece of experimental Doom/Drone Metal.

Life is highly recommended. I have to thank TAURUS and Earsplit PR for letting me review this. I hope TAURUS will release many more unsettling visions like LIFE. Great Stuff.

Life is available from all good stockists now. You can get digital and physical releases from BandCamp right now where the album is streaming in full if your feeling brave enough.

Check This Great Band Below:

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