Introducing sludge/stoner metal quartet HEALER and their new EP, Desolation!

HEALER strikes while the iron is hot, poised to establish themselves as a new force to be reckoned with on the French sludge scene. A year after Deconstruction, the four-piece from Tours unveils its sequel, the second installment of their inaugural EP trilogy. Desolation continues a solid and utterly unassailable declaration of intent. Anvil-like riffs collide with a sharp melodic style, putting efficiency back at the forefront. Here, there's no time for idle chatter. Everything resonates like an expiation, as much sonic as it is personal, exploring themes linked to childhood trauma.

You can't really talk about fresh air when listening to HEALER. The effect of this new EP is more like a steamroller that has remained under the blazing sun for far too long. A real all-star band from the Tours (France) scene, the quartet counts in its ranks former and current members of Verbal Razors, Toekan, Beyond The Styx and Crack House. Finding a new footing with confidence on Deconstruction, it imposes itself even more on a formidable Desolation. These 18 minutes of huge sound are the prerogative of a precise and chiselled confrontation of heavy riffs like anvils which give way to ultra effective melodies.

But rest assured, there is no softening to report. Here is an alignment of slaps feeding on punk and hardcore aggression, without forgetting to offer great moments of heaviness and doom dissonance. The perfect recipe for bringing out heavy and tormented atmospheres, but always gripping. An alternation which extends even into the vocals of the two guitarists Jibus and Hardno, the raspy style of one being jostled from time to time by the clearer and more vaporous register of the other. And the quartet draws its strength just as much from its play on contrasts. "Red Waves" becomes explosive and heavy, when "Shadow Racer" takes over by pressing on the accelerator. A trend which increases unceremoniously with "Hindsight" and its thrash-esque contours, indulging in a little complexity AND drawing out some killer groove. Until "Today Is Not The Day" closes the march in all epicness, whose pachydermy is matched only by its melodic power. Jibus looks back on the path that led to this sound spectrum:

By the time of my former bands, I always listened to music that was heavy and slow, but still very dynamic. This time I wanted something squarer, more catchy. Hence the sometimes more “pop” side of Torche that I love. As such, HEALER was truly considered, and still is, as a therapy. It’s about offering something completely luminous. Go forward. We've all had our traumas in our lives, and that became the basis for the lyrics.

Stream / Buy / Download the album on Bandcamp

Letting all their rage boil and then burst out, HEALER confront and purge their personal experiences through these 4 new firefights. This is about damaged youth, through broad themes. As suggested by the sublime artwork designed by Wizp, over-performance in the face of parental pressure is castigated. Less obviously, the band also mentions autoimmune diseases and the lack of support from medical and specialized institutions. It is also a question of deterring suicidal tendencies by carrying a message of hope, and finally of carrying out one's own introspection. Therapeutic, all the way.

With Desolation, HEALER delivers four new compact and destructive tracks, a self-proclaimed legacy of the Savannah (Georgia, USA) scene. And for which the mastering was once again entrusted to none other than Jonathan Nuñez, guitarist of Torche and renowned sound engineer. Behold, this is the perfect soundtrack for the next heatwave.

Line up :

Jibus (chant/guitare)

Hardno (guitare/chant)

Piotr (basse/choeurs)

Phil (batterie)

Recorded and mixed by Benou at Studio Macrocosme (Saint-Avertin)

Mastered by Jonathan Nuñez au Sound Artillery Studio (Gainesville, USA)

Artwork : Wizp

HEALER:

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Thank you very much Vous Connaissez ? // PR by Clément Duboscq

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