Otesanek are a group that’s part of the burgeoning cult of mega-slow doom metal bands falling somewhere in the sludge and drone doom subgenres. This style is essentially an extension of the style bands like Grief pioneered in the early to mid 90s. Modern bands like Otesanek, Moss and Monarch take it a step further, slowing the pace even more for painfully drawn out and heavy ass riffs that take it to such a level that at some points it must be deemed “drone” (meaning they sustain a tone for a long period of time). Otesanek are certainly one of the best at this style, which is encapsulated in their “Oceans” (first of the 2 tracks) album.
While on their demo they mixed it up a little, opting for some slightly faster paced parts and even some EyeHateGod-ish punky sounding sludge riffs, on Oceans they take it down to the slowest pace possible and just deliver churning heavy sluggish shit. This shit is so slow and drawn out a 40some minute album can only fit two songs. Many people wouldn’t be into such a minimal sound, so only real doom freaks tend to be able to appreciate it.
Anyhow, as stated, every single fuckin’ riff on this album is as slow as it gets and heavy, sludgy, and filthy as they come. The drums plod along and primitively smash shit. The vocals are higher screams, the same kind used in most bands in this subgenre, and somewhat an emulation of the 90s pioneers of sludge doom. As far as variety in riffs is concerned there isn’t much here. Most riffs create a repetitive section that goes on for perhaps several minutes at a time with little variation. Once again this repetitiveness and minimalism can put a lot of people off. It also may draw criticism that this style is just an excuse for talentless hacks to sit around playing a few chords for an hour and call it an album. Well I don’t believe that’s necessarily true. As with all filthy and primitive styles of music not a whole lot of technical proficiency is required, but the songwriting is there regardless, and they deliver the goods and serve their purpose as well as any band with the aim of making intensely slow and heavy shit.
While Otesanek’s the s/t is good for its style and delivers everything it should, it’s by no means a masterpiece. If you’re already into this genre and haven’t heard them you should definitely check this out, and if none of the above description puts you off this could be for you too. It’s very abrasive and harsh shit and that’s mostly what I like about it.
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