Rhino

Props to Arctic for unearthing this most of heavy of bands. Spain's Rhino take ultra-heavy low-end worship, slow-motion sludge and downer riff-based stoner metal to depths seldom mined. They kick things off with the title track, a heavy tune that's a great choice for an opener, rocking like the best of Crowbar and Goatsnake — that grunted count-in starts things off on a hilariously caveman-ish note. Second song "Reins of the Warlord" has goofy vocals but those killer riffs make up for it. Sure, the vocals on "Bahamüt" sound like Layne Staley but surprisingly, it works. All things considered, some of these songs are really long and the album as a whole is tirelessly lengthy, but for music this behemoth it works. Because after a while, these aren't songs, just one big blur, like if Down swallowed downers and just took it easy, or if High on Fire decided to see just how heavy they could get, rumbling low, long and deep into the night.