Album Review: Hull's Sole Lord

First off, the album artwork just screams epic: an orange and yellow tinted photo of one of the great pyramids of Egypt (don’t ask me which one, that’s a question for Karl Sanders).

This is a great ambient stoner album because rather than being a collection of songs, “Sole Lord” takes you on a winding journey across desert sands. The album is arranged into three songs that have been divided into chapters:

1. Endless Obsidian Abyss: I. Innocence II. Transition III. Immortal IV. Deliverance
2. Wrath of the Sands
3. Born from Flesh and Stone: I. Wanderer II. Healer III. Aesthetic IV. Architect V. Vessel
   

Sole Lord isn’t an album you rock out to. It has a very slow droning pace. Hull expertly mixes clean and distorted guitars to achieve the over arching ambiance. I can’t name a favorite song because each track blends so well together. That said, I recommend listening to it in its entirety.
The only aspect of this album I dislike would be the vocals. They have two vocalists. One does spot-on killer growly-screams while another backs them with whiney screaming (of which I’ve never been a fan).
All in all, sit down, listen to the album all the way through and enjoy your desert voyage.
I give it 3 ½ out of 5 hammers.



Hull’s Sole Lord was released May 26th, 2009 on The End Records

-TS