Bison B.C. – Dark Ages (2010)

Opening with the interesting titled song “Stressed Elephant”, Bison B.C is back with a gloomier sound and a more complex songwriting style that will surely propel this band into Stoner Metal excellence. “Dark Ages” is both more complex and interesting sounding than “Quiet Earth”, the band’s first album back in 2008.

As a very young band, Bison B.C have managed to get enough buzz around them to get signed by Metal Blade Records, and make an instant impact in the crowded Stoner Metal/Rock scene. Hailing from Canada, the band uses a relentless assault of crunchy riffs through “Dark Ages” that will please even the pickiest followers of the genre.

The first thing noticeable about “Dark Ages” is that the band has left their older vocal style for a powerful combination of low growls and screams, achieving more variety in this department than they had before. The music varies from slow and painful riff driven melodies to higher tempo aggressive sections, making this album very fresh sounding.

Bison B.C seems to still be crafting and perfecting their own sound, and with “Dark Ages” they have reached a major milestone. All the songs are way more complex than on “Quiet Earth” while still maintaining their raw power. Each track features memorable riffs and aggressive vocals that will even appeal to fans of ‘harsher’ music than the traditional Stoner Metal crowd.

Our favorite track has to be “Two-Day Booze”, a song that features complex drumming paired with great melodic guitar work. With this song the band shows that there is no limit to their versatility and that even better things can be expected from them in the future. Another interesting thing about “Dark Ages” is that the band spends more effort and time in creating a thicker atmosphere than they did before.

In general “Dark Ages” is a very solid release of a band that has great promise. All 7 songs that comprise these 46 minutes of music are excellently put together to create a powerful riff packed album that will stay in our constant play list for months to come.

Release: April 13th, 2010

Country: Canada