There’s a good chance you’ve never of heard of Thuringia’s Motorowl, but their first recorded effort is an impressive cauldron of retro rock and doom given a new lease of life.

The German five piece managed to bag Century Media for their début album, Om Generator. A lively mix of stoner with elements 70s rock & prog and featuring a polished sound courtesy of Dan Swanö,(Edge of Sanity, Witherscape),

It’s not surprising Swanö has said he thinks these guys are “amazing.”, much like his own music, Motorowl shift constantly from intensely keyboard-focused instrumental passages to heavy guitars to almost rock ballads and back again, often all within the space of one song.

Swinging from doom-laden stomp into jazzier keyboard-heavy passages, the opening title track largely sums up the album as a whole; a little rough around the edges, but brimming with ideas and energy. The galloping pomp of ‘The Highest City Part.1’ is somewhat offset by the slow burning of Part.2.

Featuring a heavy streak of melody through the vocals, some of frontman Max Hemmann notes occasionally sound a bit off. But he shows a decent range; ‘Beloved Whale’ starts as a slow introspective number before showing off the closest thing Hemmann comes to screaming.

Every track is bristling with ideas, hooks, and time changes. Some ideas stick, some don’t. But for every passage that falls flat, there’s a soaring storm of riffs and key solos that are so uncommon these days.

Motorowl bring a melting pot of different influences; Royal Thunder, The Order of Israfel, early Witchcraft, maybe even some aspects of modern Opeth, and blend them into something with plenty of energy and quality. Not perfect, but an enjoyable listen.

7.0/10

DAN SWINHOE

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