Album Review
YETI ON HORSEBACK - Traditional Addictions
Crushing Doom Nightmare
Canadian doom metal outfit YETI ON HORSEBACK have carved out a distinctive space within the underground metal scene with their crushing riff structures, oppressive atmospheres, and a unique approach that blends sludge and drone influences. Following a long period of silence after their 2016 debut album "The Great Dying", the band returns with "Traditional Addictions" embracing a denser, more layered, and more experimental sonic identity.
With "Traditional Addictions", YETI ON HORSEBACK attempt to redefine doom metal’s center of gravity not merely through slowed-down riffs, but through sonic density and structural tension. The album’s core approach is clear: creating an atmosphere that pushes the listener beyond traditional song structures through thick layers of distortion, guitar textures that remain suspended for extended periods, and compositions built around patient rhythmic progression. However, the band does not reduce this approach to a simple repetition of drone or sludge aesthetics; the fractured harmonies of psychedelic metal, the gradual escalation logic of post-metal, and the hypnotic repetition patterns of the stoner tradition become integrated into the album’s slow-moving machinery.
The four-track recording presents an approach that attempts to expand traditional doom formulas across its approximately 47-minute runtime. Opening track 'Drug Addict' is one of the clearest representations of this vision. Rather than moving around a single central riff, this composition, which exceeds thirteen minutes, utilizes the physical pressure created by repetition. Low-tuned tones, slow-paced drum patterns, and continuously expanding layers of distortion build the track around atmospheric intensity rather than melodic development. The weight here does not come solely from the slowness of the riffs, but from the band’s deliberate use of space.
The vocal approach is one of the album’s most distinctive elements. The layered structure created through the contributions of S.S., R.P., and the other vocal performances resembles a clash of different psychological perspectives rather than a single narrator. Sharp screams borrowed from black metal, guttural sludge vocals, and more fragile, strained vocalizations collide within the same space. This choice prevents the music from becoming monotonous, particularly on tracks such as 'Drug Addict' and 'Through With This Flesh', because the vocals are not simply an additional layer placed over the heavy riffs; they function as an element that shapes the dramatic movement of the compositions.
The rhythm section is the album’s true foundation. The drums preserve doom metal’s traditional sense of slow, heavy movement while occasionally strengthening the physical character of the tracks through repetitive patterns that approach drone territory. The bass guitar, meanwhile, does not merely support the low frequencies of the guitars; it creates a separate mass within the wall of distortion, expanding the overall volume and weight of the compositions. 'Mariner’s Lament' represents the more atmospheric side of this approach. Instead of relying on direct riff devastation, the track is built around slowly developing tension. Ambient textures and post-rock-influenced transitions become more visible throughout the composition.
At this point, it is necessary to consider where YETI ON HORSEBACK’s musical choices position them within the contemporary doom and sludge scene. The band operates within the same broad ecosystem as SLEEP’s hypnotic repetition, YOB’s riff-driven heaviness, THOU’s bleak sludge approach, and THE MELVINS’ experimental attitude. However, "Traditional Addictions" does not simply imitate these references; instead, it creates a dirtier and more psychologically enclosed sonic environment. The album’s defining characteristic is not its movement between genres, but its attempt to dissolve the boundaries of these styles into a single, dense sonic mass.
That said, not every experimental element on the album carries the same level of impact. While drone, psychedelic metal, and post-metal influences clearly shape the overall atmosphere, some sections use these layers more as surface textures than as elements that alter the direction of the compositions. YETI ON HORSEBACK are at their strongest when these additional influences transform the existing riff structures rather than simply decorate them. The band is highly effective at creating atmosphere, but not every experimental approach achieves the same level of structural significance.
The album’s most striking moment arrives with the closing track 'Erotic Goth Dad'. Described by the band themselves as their most ambitious and intense composition, the song truly represents the album’s broadest compositional territory. Here, different ideas ranging from classic heavy metal influences to post-doom melodies find their place within the same structure. The guitar solos and more memorable melodic motifs reveal that the band’s identity is not built solely around heaviness. What makes the track particularly notable is its ability to create recognizable melodic hooks even within such an overwhelmingly dense atmosphere. Compared to the constant pressure maintained throughout the rest of the album, this creates a significant point of contrast.
The production, recorded over a four-year period with Greg Dawson, is one of the defining elements of the album’s character. "Traditional Addictions" moves away from the hyper-clean separation often favored by modern metal productions, choosing instead a more organic approach where guitars and bass bleed into one another to create a physical wall of sound. However, this density never collapses into uncontrolled muddiness. Through careful placement of the layers, the album maintains a structure that is both filthy and focused.
Visually, the field-journal-inspired artwork and album design created by Jes Dunn follow a direction that aligns with the record’s thematic approach. Anatomical details, symbolic objects, and unsettling visual combinations support the album’s focus on cycles of trauma and addiction. However, the strength of the visual language comes from its fragmented and open-to-interpretation nature rather than from being directly explanatory. This choice parallels the uncertainty and heaviness that define the album’s musical identity.
"Traditional Addictions" does not represent a radical departure that redefines the fundamental principles of doom and sludge metal; however, it successfully establishes its place within the contemporary experimental territories of these genres. The album demands that listeners move away from immediate consumption habits and search for details within extended repetitions, dense sonic layers, and slowly developing structures. YETI ON HORSEBACK’s greatest achievement does not lie in combining different influences, but in the moments when they transform those influences into a meaningful whole within their own heavy, dark, and physical sonic world. "Traditional Addictions" is a record rooted in the traditions of doom metal while engaging with the atmospheric and experimental tendencies of modern extreme metal, valuing structural patience as much as sheer intensity.
OZAN
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