Troll

A couple months ago, Portland's Troll split with their lead singer, Rainbo. It's a challenging time for them, and hopefully they'll get someone to fill his shoes, because they have a strong stoner/doom offering in the form of their self-titled debut, which actually came out a year and a half ago, but is now being released in more formats by Shadow Kingdom. There's definitely some significant trippiness in Lou Van Lanning's clean guitar work, while the mournful yet snappy doses of overdriven distortion you get on The Witch and An Eternal Haunting give a timeless sound to the band's work, at once retro and modern; I'm reminded occasionally of Pallbearer. But we get a bit more aggression than in that band's work, and the sound's closer and tighter, more garage than cathedral. Rainbo's vocals, usually alternating between sepulchral groans and a vibrato-filled wail, though a bit nasal, are a good match for the band's sound, so it's too bad that he's out, but perhaps they can find someone equally fitting for the next album. This is a strong showing for a debut, and Troll shows itself capable of putting together a competitive slice of doom right from the start. The two middle tracks are my favorites, but everything on this little LP is well-made and tight. Bandcamp: https://trollpdx.bandcamp.com/album/troll.