Slow, Doom-Pop Lacking Content

Godhunter released their first full-length album back in 2011. Since then, they’ve been an up and coming act in the stoner/doom metal genre as they continue to merge distortion and a few vocal types with slow rhythms. Codex Narco has seven tracks total, and it aims to prove that the band has many genre-bending capabilities, even as they sit upon a doom metal base.

Of the seven tracks on Codex Narco, there seem to be only four that are full-length songs. Three of the seven are all under two minutes and seem to act as introductory/finale tracks rather than anything else. This is not a problem whatsoever, but it does cut the album down a bit in any replay value. If only four songs can stand on their own on any playlist, is Codex Narco really an album that anyone will listen to in full more than once?

“A Dread of Some Strange Impending Doom” starts off the album and toes the line between an album introduction and a full song, but it nonetheless gives off a chaotic and atmospheric presence to start off the LP. The first full-length track we get is “Like Glass Under Black Fingernails.”

In true doom fashion, “Fingernails” is a slow and sludgy song that adds slight elements throughout. The singer starts with a clean vocal in this song and eventually works his way into a rougher delivery, which gives the song dimensions and lets it evolve naturally. The rest of the track toggles through both vocal stylings, keeping the overall song fresh even if some instrumentals may be repetitive and slow.

Another great doom metal track is “Cocaine Witches & Lysergic Dreams,” which is a more poppy effort than “Fingernails,” but still maintains a lot of the grit presented by the album early on. Some wacky synths enter the picture for this song, and they are a welcome addition. Godhunter manages to take very simple instrumentation and make it exciting with all these other elements thrown in, from vocal stylings to the synths.

The last full song on the album is “Walking With A Ghost,” which is a strangely poppy song that edges onto the point of glam-metal. This song is the real highlight of the LP, as it is just so incredibly different than anything else, showing that Godhunter really has a wide artistic pallet.

However, every other song on Codex Narco incorporates things like narration to lead into the song that follows. Tracks like “Our Blood is Like Poison” and “Unarmed Combat” really serve no purpose in the grand scheme of Godhunter’s work. Because of the small amount of actual fleshed out pieces on this album, they could have labeled it as an EP instead.

Godhunter put together something really diverse in Codex Narco. They did not necessarily hit the mark on the amount of actual content expected, but the LP does a great job communicating exactly what to expect from Godhunter. It will be interesting to see if they continue in a more pop-metal direction with their next work.