ROAD TO DARKNESS

I don't know what to make of this album. I really wanted to like it - loved the cover of the album and with a name like "Gandalf's Fist" I thought this could be something special. The music is almost experimental in nature. It's kind of like a seriously stoned old Pink Floyd. The problem that I have is that it kind of drones gently on and on and it is hard not to get the term "muzak" out of my head as that is what this really is. It does have its moments but those moments, to my ears, are far and few between. The medievil folksy sound of "Untrodden Ways" is pleasant. I can't say that I enjoy the vocals very much at all - they are kind of a drone to me most of the time - when they get away from the Floydian kind of breathy chorus sound then they are not bad at all but for the most part they kind of go on and on. A third of the way through the album I was kind of hoping for some uptempo moments but there weren't any and at the end all I can say was that the result, to me, was boredom. I can't get away from the feeling that this is just a bunch of mates in a garage experimenting with sound and a kind of folksy Floydean structure. It isn't a terrible listen but it's not anything that I will be revisiting in a hurry, if ever. Two stars from me - it isn't horrible but then again I have more important things to devote 40 or 50 minutes to.