Labelled “extremely brutal” by Eyehategod guitarist/Down drummer Jimmy Bower, Ravine pull no punches when it comes to delivering a heavy riff. The Oregon band’s brand of sludge/doom and hardcore mightn’t reach the insane levels of heaviness set by Byzanthian Neckbeard or Dopethrone, but the best moments on their 2025 release ‘Chaos and Catastrophes’ are on a par with many a great and muddy sounding, riff wielding act.

‘Deliver’ sets an impressive tone by kicking off with a relatively fast riff that sounds like a slightly sludgier version of Sepultura’s blistering cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘Symptom of The Universe’, working through sharp edged sounds coupled by a roaring hardcore vocal. Allowing a couple of minutes for this to take a hold, the track then switches gears. Guitarists Nico Schmutz and Justin Morgan adopt a slow, almost bluesy swagger, taking the band’s heavy sound further into the realms of works set down by 20 Watt Tombstone. The slower approach may uncover some of Paul Dudziak’s more obvious vocal limitations – his concrete gargled roaring is far better suited to hardcore shouting when the band are attacking their riffs at full pelt – but, from a musical perspective, this huge, almost lumbering sound shows how brilliantly Ravine can deliver an absolutely huge riff in timeless style. Less than four minutes into the album, its clear that those who love things at the more aggressive end of the stoner spectrum are in for a treat. …And that’s before the abrasive vocals step aside to allow the bluesy riff to take on an even sludgier sound. At its heaviest peak, this number shares riffs that could crush almost everything in their path, and when adding an extra layer of doom blues, the dual guitar sound is huge, but surprisingly melodic. A slow, heavily wah-ed solo adds to the moody blues that’s powering the doom riffs on an already impressive opener, and the higher pitched of the twin guitars isn’t afraid of adding a few fretboard melting antics, despite the main riff never shifting beyond a solid mid tempo. Overall, despite clearly being two very different ideas welded together, this track sets a brilliant tone, putting the listener in the right frame of mind for a couple of even heavier workouts.

Following an intro constructed from feedback and drones, ‘Conjure’ eventually crashes in with a chugging chord and crashing doom riff, signifying a classic metal sound. The feedback initially remains to create an extra sonic arc over the heaviness, but once that falls away, the band set themselves to work on a classic doom-sludge hybrid that shares an absolutely immense sound. Having grabbed their audience’s attention, it’s then full speed ahead via a riff that borrows rather shamelessly from the Sabs’ ‘Children of The Grave’, giving drummer Matt Amott more of a chance to cut loose. The band’s approach here is a perfect fit with the hardcore inflected vocal. Between this and a heavy but fairly workmanlike stoner riff, this number captures the Ravine brand of heaviness in a fuss-free manner, leading to something that genre fans will take to in a heartbeat. With three very distinctly different riffs used to construct the sometimes sludgy arrangement, a rather nifty lead guitar break en route showing off more semi-bluesy tones that add a broader melody and even time for a vaguely funky bass line (courtesy of Dylan Wills) to creep in, the ten minute duration actually flies by. …And in case that track proved to be a little too varied and melodic, ‘Ennui’ quickly opts for doomy purity, stretching a riff that sounds like a sludgy version of Black Sabbath’s title song over a frighteningly intense six minutes whilst Dudziak absolutely canes his throat. For those who make it through that alive, there’s a relative musical reward when a lengthy coda adds a couple of extra chords and beats, increasing the tempo slightly, but without changing the overall feel. After a couple of superb songs, it’s fair to say this number is hard work at best, but you have to applaud Ravine for pushing their brand of doom to the limit.

It’s also clear that Ravine know the value in sequencing an album for the best dramatic effect. The first ninety seconds of ‘Prophecy’ delivers some perfectly played blues rock. The noodling tones really give the listener time to reflect before the lads wheel out another slow and doomy groove. Much like the opener, everything works a sound that could be a bluesier take on something like Conan, and even Paul’s demonic growl fits well with the moments of dual guitar work and a drum part that manages to work a slow and weighty tempo to great effect. You won’t find anything here that pushes doom metal’s boundaries, but for those who love a mournful lead guitar break set against a funereal riff, this could become a favourite track. Almost realising they can’t wheel out another oppressively slow number, closing track ‘Contagion’ opens with a barrage of riffs that take a fuzzed up stoner tone and apply them to a groove that comes much closer to something very retro from the NWOBHM, before everything descends into a mid tempo head-nodder where stoner and doom collide. Taking the repetitious riff to its extremes, Justin and Nico sound great working in tandem, whether losing themselves in a classic chug or dropping in a few bluesier tones, whilst Dylan fills parts of the latter part of this great track with some very weighty sounding bass. As with ‘Conjure’, this doesn’t aim to bring a new approach to doom and sludge, merely take a tried and tested sound and deliver it with a genuine power. On that score, this is definitely another of this album’s highlights.

Delivering just five tracks over a very heavy forty seven minutes, this is an intense release, to say the least. Whether working through dense sounding material, or adding blues rock influences into a great stoner groove or three, the musicianship is first class, and far more interesting than the many sludge bands who choose a default setting of pummelling their audience. By focusing on lengthy arrangements ‘Chaos and Catastrophes’, is never an easy listen, but for sludge and heavy stoner fiends everywhere, it is the kind of of album that, provided listeners can handle more of a hardcore vocal, will stand up with the genre’s very best.

May/June 2025