Review of Endorphins - Volume One

Quick and dirty, that’s the theme here, both my review and this rather brief but entertaining 6 song EP from Canada’s Endorphins. Basically Endorphins play a neat little mix of what appears to be stoner rock (I have limited experience in that area, so I might be talking out of my ass) and death ‘n’ roll, and it works quite well. The production is what immediately got my attention, as it's essentially the sound Entombed has been trying to perfect for the last three albums; a deep fuzzed out bass heavy garage rock sound. While I don’t really care for stoner or fuzz rock, Endorphins add enough harsher influences to make their hazy sound drift into heavier territory. “Pussy Killer”, wraps stoner rock ‘tude into a more rumbling, quicker paced anthem, and reeks of Entombed “Uprising”, with a solid East Coast undercurrent. This is then followed by the surprisingly paced and punky “Symbols & Thoughts”, that if anything shows Endorphins are more than a laid back fuzz band, relying on way more than Southern riffs and pot atmosphere to fuel their sound. Then as if to remind the listener of their no doubt hydro inspired musings, they puff out the surreal opening minutes of “Grey”, before rocking out with a more stoner doom inspired tie-dye metal. Of note are the vocals of guitarist vocalist Michael who has a rough edge to his voice, that again, gives Endorphins enough weight not to fully be entrenched in stoner rock despite the attempt of hit-o–rific rocker “Purple”. As the EP ends with the sturdy “Alone”, I feel Endorphins aren’t really sure of where they want to go with their material. With their beefy production and reefy stoner influences, they could well just as well get a deal with Southern Lord Records, but then again they seem to want to experiment with some more aggressive elements in their sound that might make them a little too harsh for the mellow crowd wanting their metal to be psychedelically mind altering. ”. I hate reviewing EP’s, let alone EP’s from unsigned bands because essentially I always have to justify if an unsigned band should take the next step, and with 6 songs, that is not enough in my minds to make a judgement on. Now, this EP was released in 2002, and it's possible since then they have fine tuned their direction, I certainly hope so as there is some promise in this band, but they need to decide what element of their sound they chose to fulfill.

Release Details

Endorphins

Volume One

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