Pombagira
Maleficia Lamiah
Black Axis Records
2013
Let me start by saying that this might just be the hardest review I had ever had to write and that the rating above is just my personal opinion.
Pombagira is a London based psychedelic/doom rock duo consisting of drummer Carolyn Hamilton-Giles and guitarist Peter Hamilton Giles. For their fifth full length album “Maleficia Lamiah” they decided to take a huge gamble. In true psychedelic mode the album features only two songs “Maleficia Lamiah” (18:50) and “Grave Cardinal” (22:52). Many bands like Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull have tried out such things and it has paned out for them extremely well. But Pombagira seem to have been influenced more by the slow tempo and heavy sounding guitars of bands like Electric Wizard and Sleep rather than the melodic full “orchestral sound” of Pink Floyd.
In my opinion the album is below par and at some points it becomes unlistenable. The guitar riffs are so slow and sometimes so out of tune that may give you a headache and the vocals are so toned down that you really have to make an effort to make out what he is talking about. It is safe to say that we are not dealing with an easy-listening record. “Maleficia Lamiah” demands the listener’s complete attention, but in my opinion it does not earn it.
So, in conclusion, I think that the gamble didn’t work out well for Pombagira at all, but at the same time I truly believe that “Maleficia Lamiah” is such a distinct album that you will either hate or love it. There is no middle road; and you must decide for yourself.
Pombagira is a London based psychedelic/doom rock duo consisting of drummer Carolyn Hamilton-Giles and guitarist Peter Hamilton Giles. For their fifth full length album “Maleficia Lamiah” they decided to take a huge gamble. In true psychedelic mode the album features only two songs “Maleficia Lamiah” (18:50) and “Grave Cardinal” (22:52). Many bands like Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull have tried out such things and it has paned out for them extremely well. But Pombagira seem to have been influenced more by the slow tempo and heavy sounding guitars of bands like Electric Wizard and Sleep rather than the melodic full “orchestral sound” of Pink Floyd.
In my opinion the album is below par and at some points it becomes unlistenable. The guitar riffs are so slow and sometimes so out of tune that may give you a headache and the vocals are so toned down that you really have to make an effort to make out what he is talking about. It is safe to say that we are not dealing with an easy-listening record. “Maleficia Lamiah” demands the listener’s complete attention, but in my opinion it does not earn it.
So, in conclusion, I think that the gamble didn’t work out well for Pombagira at all, but at the same time I truly believe that “Maleficia Lamiah” is such a distinct album that you will either hate or love it. There is no middle road; and you must decide for yourself.