What In The Universe by Nydeaf

I started this blog to give a little boost to some of the many instrumental albums on Bandcamp that are not getting anywhere near the amount of love and attention they deserve. When I am listening to an album and I really enjoy it, and then take a look at its Bandcamp page only to see a handful of fans supporting it ... well, that makes me want to help and get the word out. Stream the album at Bandcamp and read Fuzzy Cracklin's review of the instrumental stoner metal album What In the Universe by Nydeaf after the jump.


What In The Universe is a solo instrumental stoner metal project by Nydeaf (who is also a member of Artifex). His motivation for making this EP was to get more into the production side of recording an album, and also so he could try out some different sounds and styles than what he is doing with Artifex. You can hear the variety on these tracks, and yet there is still a nice flow to it.

So let's break down What In The Universe:



The EP gets off to a crunchy metallic start then gets into a groovy melody. But not too groovy -- there's plenty of energy throughout. And is that a harmonica at 1:10? Not your usual instrument for a stoner metal album, but it works.



Nydeaf said he wanted to try out some different sounds, and listen how different the tone is on this second tracks. Things have become very fuzzy and doomy. Another great track.



Here's the title track, and the harmonica kicks in right away. I can't believe how well it works. If you had asked me before I heard this EP, "Do you think stoner metal is missing the harmonica?" I am sure that I would have answered an emphatic NO. But that is why we have to support artists such as Nydeaf because they create sonic art for us to hear that we would not have thought of.



This is most psychedelic track of the set, but it gets plenty fuzzy before it hits the halfway mark. Here we get a nice sample from an Apollo countdown, the classic sound clip from Apollo 13, and I think that is Interstellar towards the end.  I can't resist any track with Apollo recordings in it. If you are the same way, do not miss Go Apollo! from Energy 2000.



I couldn't place the sample on We Fucked Up so I contacted Nydeaf and he kindly set me straight. (It's from the opening scene of The Hangover.) I like this track so much that I added it to my list of favorite sound clip sample tracks.

I really like the whole vibe of this album. Great guitar work, lots of fuzzy doomy stoner-y sounds, and a couple of classic samples. Help me spread the word on this excellent instrumental metal album from Nydeaf and head over to his Bandcamp page to support him.


Share your instrumental music with me in the comments. And check out my Fuzzy in the Desert playlist on Spotify.