It's all about the groove with Germany's BLACKSMOKER. Their second album "Rupture" is ten tracks of swaggering Stoner Rock that'll please anyone who likes their riffs fuzzy and their beards drenched in whiskey. With two bass players in the line-up and an unshakeable commitment to down-tuned power chords, they've delivered an impressively low-register earth-shaker. They're not doing anything that hasn't already been covered by SLEEP, KYUSS and ELECTRIC WIZARD but they're still good enough to be mentioned in the same sentence as the genre's giants. It's predictable sure, but it's also well-executed and enjoyable.

Opening with a song that sounds like an asteroid plunging into a cannabis farm is an especially striking way to begin. "Rupture" is a bleary eyed rampage that recalls both MASTODON's sludgy noodling and MOTORHEAD's single-minded anthems. "Herorizer" follows and is just as good; it's a bruising head-banger and feels a bit like watching a flannel-clad giant going through an out-of-control acid trip.

The stomping "Huntress" meanwhile is a slower number, content to lay back and growl over bluesy guitar passages. It's not drastically different from the preceding tracks but the change of pace comes at just the right moment, giving the record a chance to lie back and take a breath from all the aggression of the opening songs. "Undefeated" on the other hand is the most Lemmy-esque track on offer and if you concentrate hard enough you might almost convince yourself that the old legend has risen from the grave to do guest vocals.
This does have the unfortunate side-effect of making BLACKSMOKER occasionally come across as perhaps slightly too in thrall of their heroes. "Rupture" never struggles to impress but every few songs it's hard to shake the impression that HIGH ON FIRE et al have played these arrangements before. It also goes without saying that while they are reminiscent of MASTODON, they don't reach the same dizzying highs that the Atlanta titans do. Anyone expecting a record on par with "Crack The Skye" will be disappointed.

However, for good old-fashioned beer-drenched Stoner Groove, BLACKSMOKER hit a lot more than they miss. "Rupture" isn't an instant classic but it is a solid 7/10 record all the way through. And those riffs man, hot damn.Review by Tim Bolitho-Jones