Listening through Drifting in the Endless Void, the first release from Sweden’s Dozer in fifteen years, is like being transported back in time when the term “Desert Rawk” was still being formulated. It’s a genesis kind of heaviness that transcends any one genre with an incessant pummeling that’s profound as it builds upon a sonic world that Dozer helped shape having come up around the fall of Kyuss in the mid-’90’s.
“Mutation/Transformation” encapsulates that feel and then some with a steady stream of riffage from Fredrik Nordin and Tommi Holappa that welcomes old listeners back and invites new ones to join the Dozer fold. “Ex-Human, Now Beast” has airs of Chris Cornell with the way Nordin’s vocal delivery flows on a track that’s bestial yet cerebral as Sebastian Olsson’s drums go on a rampage and form a cohesive crushing unit alongside Johan Rockner’s bass bombast. Next up, “Dust For Blood” is thunderous with Nordin’s heavenly vocals offsetting that powerful punch that Olsson is once again packing behind the kit accompanied by Rockner to create a bouncing boogie.
“Andromeda” is expansive and spacious, presenting the majesty that Dozer has honed over the years while “No Quarter Expected, No Quarter Given” is dynamic, delivering a ditty reminiscent of early QOTSA which, of course, given Dozer’s longevity on the scene could really be the other way around. “Run, Mortals, Run!” is highlighted by Nordin’s serene delivery counterbalancing the riff storm he lays down with Holappa that’s unrelenting in its’ ferocity and bolstered by an undeniable finesse with the brilliant “Missing 13” taking a final bow for Drifting… with a track that’s as brilliant as it is big, clocking in at just under nine minutes and taking Dozer’s latest out in a fever pitch on the way to a pinnacle with no end in sight.
Drifting in the Endless Void drops on April 21st through Blues Funeral Recordings. Pre-orders are up now and available for perusin’ and purchasin’ when you head here, here, or here for an ultra limited deluxe edition through a PostWax subscription. For the latest from Dozer, follow them across ye olde socials by clicking here or here.