SANTA PLANTA have released their dark and slow, riff-riddled self-titled EP created during the long months of quarantine. This is perfect stoner metal music with its low and slow heaviness. The first song "Judas Goat" has basically no lyrics aside from a voice clip at the beginning mentioning a slaughterhouse with the sound of goats bleating in the background - a nod to Black Metal it seems. The basic riffs and drumbeats at the beginning seem to go on forever and start to get old, but my attention is captured again finally when things start to speed up just after the four minute mark and everything drops off at about 4:40 right before a groovy psychedelic-style guitar solo kicks in, which is the only part of the song I really dig. I could have gone without the long, slow beginning and random sound clip. At least it ends strong.

"Overture" begins with a pace and sound not too different from the first track, however, we finally get a taste of the vocals with this one. They're nothing too special, not bad, but they're certainly fitting for the music. And just before the three-minute mark, the music picks up pace quite a bit, which is a nice change from the slow tempo, then goes right back into the slow doom sound. The final track, at 13 minutes long, "Witches" is my favorite on the EP. It seems to have the most diversity and a different direction than the previous two. It's less of the same without sounding like a different band. I really like how the vocals come across in this one. There's more of the backing vocals so we get all three band members voices, making this song much more unique. I think this is where SANTA PLANTA really lets their talents shine. The riffs and guitar solo in this are gnarly, as well.

The cool thing about this is that even though it's very much stoner doom, it's not so heavy that it couldn't appeal to people who don't like the genre or heavier music in general. They feel a lot like a jam band and I think if I was having a few beers in a bar and they were playing, I would enjoy myself and feel like it's a good listen.