Play It Again: Ironweed - Indian Ladder

I was going to review the new Ironweed album (part of the Small Stone gift pack), but I decided to listen to their debut first, to both remind me of the group and to hear some sick tunes. I discovered Indian Ladder through Chief Iron Lung, a fellow blogger (although with an ulterior motive), who said these guys kick some major ass. He was not wrong, and has steered me to some great acts before and sense, and I aim to do the same now.

I really enjoy Indian Ladder because of it's fresh take on the stoner genre. Ironweed mixes the fuzz of the usual stoner with a alternative metal edge to it. I mean by that, that instead of the sort of laid back feeling of most stoner acts, this album holds onto a quick and frantic style that reminds me of something more mainstream; I don't mean this as an insult, but it's sort of like the singles from Avenged Sevenfold or Five Finger Death Punch mixed in with the more usual stoner side of things.

I really like the first two tracks, "The Faithless Will" and "Lost and Forgotten" with "A Penny for Your Prayers" and the closer, "Moth," both matching them in fury and sound. These are the tracks that most accurately mixed the stoner with energy and style, songs that really spoke to me and stood out from the majority of stoner bands hitting the scene right now. There are some other good songs, but these four take the cake of Ironweed's release.

I look forward to listening to Ironweed's follow up, Your World of Tomorrow. I'll probably get to it this weekend some time, so look forward to that next week (my initial plan was to have it up tomorrow, but that's Friday, which means it's time for another 'Weekly Dose of Prog.' Next week will have to suffice). I've heard mixed reviews of the new album, some saying that it doesn't hold up to Indian Ladder, taking the group into a semi-different direction. I'll see for myself, and pass the message on to you lot. But until then, trust me when I say that Indian Ladder is something to listen to, something to drown out the wife/kids/girlfriend (or any combination of the three) and just rock out. Hard.