From a press release, “Colonize” is a six-track concept album written and composed collectively by the band. It fuses classic doom and stoner foundations with progressive dynamics. Lyrically, the album explores topics such as environmental destruction, industrialized exploitation of nature, criticism of the techno-optimist visions spread by corporate and military power structures, and the resilience of life within collapsing systems. Front man Florian Zanatta pens lyrics that act as both a warning and a spark of hope for a different future, one where human and non-human life may find a new balance.”

The album has six songs, and “Full Machine” is first. The opening guitar tones are fuzzy, and the vocals are semi-clean, and done with a snarl. The main riff is massive, and this is riff-based Metal for sure. The music is steady, but not overly original. “Falling Through the Abyss” begins with bass notes and clean vocals, and the album just took a turn from the darkness into the light. I get shades of AOC here. The riff turns fuzzy and the vocals throaty, but the positive sound remains. The sound drags on just a little too long for me, however. “The Dawn” also begins with bass notes, and they are thick and meaty. A fuzzy riff follows, with clean vocals. It turns darker with the advent of harsh vocals.

“Electric Brain in the Mirror of Doom” is another song that is fronted with bass notes, but this time, you can hear something nefarious swirling in the background. The main riff gets into a groove, and the song has more energy. But it levels out from there. “Third Space Part 1 (Wander)” has a lumbering pace with another fuzzy riff. The bass work is excellent on the album, but the band relies too much on the main riff to carry the sound. “Third Space Part 2 (No Return)” closes the album, and the opening guitar tones are thick with reverb (and chorus?). From there, it just meanders a bit too much, which is also the case with other songs on the album.

As a Progressive music fan, I am sorry to say that I didn’t pick up on any progressive dynamics. It’s a fairly straightforward Stoner Doom album for me, and one that doesn’t distinguish itself from the veritable sea of similar bands out there. It was a lackluster listening experience for me.