This critic has said it before and will indeed say it again: there are a lot of advantages to a musician starting a one-person band. There are no clashing of styles, there's no searching for chemistry, there is just one vision seen through to its end. The results can range anywhere from groundbreaking to middling to trash. The lone musician gets to reap all the praise, or suffer all the scorn, depending on what sort of effort they've put into things.

Well go ahead and breathe, or you can at least quit holding it in. From the depths of the cosmic void comes a new project from RAYMZ (formerly of FIINKY PIE), the entirely self-contained DEEP SPACE MASK with the full-length debut "Songs From The Dark Light". Weighing in at over thirty-eight minutes across eight tracks, this album is a proper example of Stoner/Doom which benefits from precedent as much as experience.

Wheedling in on a stellar transmission akin to the likes of 35007, the first track, "Nosferatu", doesn't brook any confusion as to what is coming, being unambiguously Sludgy and Heavy while holding down a nice mid-tempo groove. It's all thrusters afire for the next track, "All Hell's Fire", as it picks up the pace for a tune in the vibe of TRUCKFIGHTERS which continues into the next track, "Inside Me".

Veneration for Metal God TONY IOMMI is not withheld by RAYMZ, and he's done his best to match that power on the instrumental "Sabbath". The next song, though entitled "Angel Of Death", is not a cover and is only vaguely SLAYER-ish, but still has a lot of good going for it. A satisfying serving of synths flavors up the next track, "Princess Of The Dark".

"Final War" creates a short bridge to the outro, going on as the album's penultimate and shortest track. The finale, "Indians", which happens to be the album's longest, reintroduces the synths to add an extra layer of ambience to an already dynamic tune that slowly fades away in the end.

So, relying heavily on its influences, "Songs From The Dark Light" manages to deliver a solid tribute to the genre in which it lies. "Nosferatu" particularly stands up as an excellent tune. Aside from the similarities already mentioned, the vocals are reminiscent of Stoner Rock titan John Garcia, and this could easily have been any of the bands he has fronted over the years.

Therein may be the album's flaw: when you sound as good as a lot of other bands, you run the risk of ONLY sounding as good as those other bands. If he intends for DEEP SPACE MASK to continue as is, RAYMZ will have to discover something greater, either within himself or from way above the stars, and get it into the studio. A very good debut demands a greater follow-up, and greatness may be right around the corner.