"Kingdom Cold" is the debut full-length album from the Australian stoner doom metal trio, OCEANLORD. This album is released on Magnetic Eye Records. The album's EPK describes OCEANLORD's sound as: "Frying guitars with an extra helping of thick fuzz and a crusty top deliver a tasty doom sound. Songs that range from very slow via slow to mid-tempo with occasional outbursts of energy also stand firmly on the rock solid ground of this classic metal genre. OCEANLORD display traces of the American, British and Swedish schools of thought with the clean vocals slightly tilting towards the latter."

The first track, "Kingdom," begins with a slow, fuzzy guitar riff that is reminiscent of SLEEP. After establishing a nice groove, the vocals come in sounding far away, a la BLACK SABBATH's "Planet Caravan." This effect is used on all of the album's tracks. The chorus has a nice stoner doom vibe in the same vein as MONOLORD and WEEDPECKER. This track manages to be morose without being depressing. The following track, "2340," is a melancholy, bluesy sailor's dirge. The backing vocals are excellent and there's some killer riffing during the chorus. There's a crying lead guitar solo that plays the song out. The vocals remind me of Dewey Bunnell from the band AMERICA. This vocal sound is most evident in "Isle Of The Dead." The fuzzed-out hazy riffs are exceptional on this track. There's a great transition just before the first chorus. My only gripe is that the album suffers from some pacing issues that make it start to drag midway through.

"Come Home," the final track, is about the call of the abyss. It's another slow burn, but it works better than most of the tracks on "Kingdom Cold." There is a sort of haze to the music that feels like a thick fog over the ocean. The pace, while still a touch on the slow side, does pick up about midway through. I enjoyed the female backing vocals, but the jam at the track's end is the main highlight. All in all, this is a solid debut from this Aussie trio. The forty-one-minute runtime is a bit long for such plodding tracks, but the overall vibe more than makes up for it. The aquatic theme of the album is fitting for a band named OCEANLORD. Let's just hope they don't run it into the ground as ALESTORM and other pirate metal bands have. OCEANLORD has hooked me with "Kingdom Cold." It's a great album for a hazy, rainy day.