Album Reviews : Noûs – Eobiont

Take some Mastodon-esque music, improve it tenfold by drenching it in darkness and adding doom (always a positive) and you might get something close to what Ballarat’s Noûs have on their debut release Eobiont, but probably not as good. Clocking in at just over twenty minutes means the release is somewhat torturous; acting a bit like a teaser of the great things to come, but great they will be.

Where Eobiont is short in length though, it is huge in sound. The riffs are monstrous, the drums are powerful, and the vocals otherworldly. There’s a whole lot of variety squeezed in there too; “Cabalistic” and “Orbis” are both seven minute long tracks ranging from slow, brooding doom through to faster, more progressive Mastodon-esque sections (as mentioned before). The former features some superb drumming which really ups the groove, while the latter has those plodding riffs that you just get lost in. “Qualia” is a gorgeous yet eerie instrumental interlude comprised of clean guitars and some subtle, haunting atmospherics, and closer “Biota” is true, horrific doom, and perhaps the highlight.

Bringing it all together is a mix that gives each instrument just enough breathing room, and the power they need when they need it. It’s thick and somewhat raw without being muddy, and a very impressive job considering the band handled everything themselves.

Noûs have really come out of nowhere, forging a doom release that will no doubt grab the attention of any fans of the dark and dirty, and potentially even convert a few non-believers. 9/10

Band: Noûs
Album: Eobiont
Year: 2011
Genre: Doom
Label: Independent
Origin: Ballarat, Victoria
http://www.nousband.com/

Track listing:
1. Cabalistic
2. Qualia
3. Orbis
4. Biota