SEER is a five-piece band that really sounds like about a dozen players from Vancouver.  "Volume 6" is their second full-length, but actually their sixth release overall counting EPs as well.  It is quite remarkable that a band that began in 2014 has such a wealth of material.  Interestingly, the lyrics follow the same narrative throughout their discography.  Also, theirs is a sound that while widely considered Doom/Sludge, is all their own.  The genre tag is really just a spring board.  Truly, this is one of the best finds I've made in a while as "Volume 6" will firmly remain in active rotation for me for some time.

"Oath of Exile" is a near-four-minute-long intro of peaceful melody conveyed by clean guitar and other sounds.  It is appropriate for setting the mood for the ensuing ceremony which truly starts off with "Iron Worth Striking".  First, some startlingly big, hanging chords form the basis.  Dirty, raw bass, straight from the gutter, growls and rumbles in the underbelly of the musical unit.  Uniquely, each guitar has differing melodic passages that serve as a catapult for when they converge and the song opens up.  The sound is alive, breathing, organic, and remarkably versatile.  The best comparison to the overall sound of the interaction of guitar and bass would be to point to DOWN's second album, that purposefully nasty, unclean heaviness - riffs arising from the rancid, dank swamp.  To truly set the band apart, the singer has a very clean, soulful voice.  His singing gives the music sophistication and added memorability.

The fourth track, "Frost Tulpa," is the longest on the album.  It begins with a peaceful, mellow vibe.  With the soulful impassioned crooning of Bronson Lee Norton, a trippy, almost jazzy mood is created.  It does get heavy, though, and before long, the band is knee-deep in tremolo riffs and blast beats.  Like the greats, this band can do it all:  mellow, brutal, blistering, and dirgeful.  The runs that serve to unite different passages are epic in a classic ZEPPELIN or SABBATH way, carefully chosen and deftly executed.

A band after all is a team.  Each player serves to better the whole.  SEER is the perfect example of this.  The drums execute a swinging groove, often syncopated and heavy on tom and cymbal work, that opens things up for the bass to freely express its ideas melodically and rhythmically.  The bass in turn broadens the expression of the guitars, each of which plays off the other thereby expanding the sound overall.  Finally, the cleanly sung vocals give the music a resolute shine, a professional wax setting them apart from the masses of clone bands and trend-followers.

Rarely is there a band to come along that breaks the mold of genre with such intensity as SEER, especially this early in their career.  When thinking about great bands throughout time, it is the ones that defy neat categorization that impress the most.  In the spirit of FAITH NO MORE, ACID BATH, and TYPE O NEGATIVE, bands with their own unique, signature identity, SEER earns their place among the elite with "Volume 6".  It isn't often that I'm this impressed with a band, and I truly cannot recommend this album enough.