Gods & Punks - A Shrine by the Sea

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Gods & Punks is a Brazilian Doom/Stoner/Sludge band who formed in 2013.  Their latest release, “A Shrine by the Sea,” is their sixth full-length album; they have also released six EPs and a live album.

One of those EPs, “Holograms,” I didn’t even know existed, so I missed that one—however, I did review the band’s previous full-length album, “Death,” and gave it worthy praise.  How does “A Shrine by the Sea,” compare?  It’s even better!

The song consists of two songs that have a runtime each of 21 minutes and 12 seconds.  I’m not sure if all versions are like this but my promo copy also came with each of the songs broken up into individual tracks.  I’m a huge fan of long songs so for me personally, I chose to listen to the full compositions rather than on an individual song basis. It amounts to the same thing, but I like to listen to albums from beginning to end, especially if I’m going to be writing a review. Your preference may be different for how you choose to tackle this album and that’s ok (not really, you’re wrong).

This is supposedly a concept album although I’m not sure what the storyline is but obviously it is about the sea/water/ocean.  Much like the oceans, this album is vast and deep.  The riffs are massive, the groove swells like the waves, and the rhythm section is super tight.  Vocally, it’s clean but very expressive and fits the music well.  

Although the two songs obviously go together in theme/concept, the two are quite different from each other. “The Lighthouse,” is the more straightforward of the two and more riff based.  The swagger and attitude of the groovy riffs sound very confident–this band has mastered their craft.  This song has a more stoner rock/metal vibe as well—even though the song is obviously heavy, there is a sort of laid-back atmosphere to parts of it.   The song begins with clean instruments and a gentle whisper of clean vocals but soon builds to a banger of song at the 1:37 mark when the distortion kicks in.   After a rocking mid-section, a kick ass solo builds up at the 12:49 mark–it’s psychedelic but also razor sharp.  An emotive clean section arises near the end with yet another impressive solo.  As the song fades out the next one arrives.

“Poseidon,” has plenty of heavy doom parts as well but it’s more atmospheric and psychedelic than the other song.  The build-up in the beginning is quite hypnotic with its methodical layers laying on top of each other as the seconds tick by.   I love a long intro, and this one goes for over five minutes—badass and interesting the entire time. At the 5:27 mark, the doom arrives and it's driven by impressive drumming and thick guitar/bass.  The hazy/smokey production on the vocals sounds amazing and fits right in with the song’s ebb and flow.   The mid-section is riffs for days and the organ afterwards boosts the song even further. 

All in all, no one sounds like Gods & Punks—a wholly unique band with a, thankfully, different perspective on the stoner/sludge/doom genre.  “A Shrine by the Sea,” once again proves how adventurous their songwriting is and how they bravely do what they want with the style without fear of anything.  

Rating:  Excellent












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