Worship Metal Album Of The Week – Mage – Green

Source // Mage

We’re a bit behind the times here as Mage’s Green was released in March, and quite how this beautiful beast of an album from East Midlands stoner rock/metal merchants Mage initially passed us by is incomprehensible! Still, we’re on it now – and thank fuck we are – as Mage have delivered a sure-fire contender for album of the year with this monstrous effort!

This shit simply traverses nearly every sub-genre that makes our beloved heavy metal so damn satisfying….with everything from the aforementioned stoner influences nestling next to some crushing doom riffage (particularly on the lumbering, menacing “Primitive Drive”) and a level of prime sludge heaviness that the UK seems to be throwing up regularly (check out the latest releases from The Darkhorse and Raging Speedhorn for proof that quality sludge metal doesn’t just come from the deep south of America)

Talking of Raging Speedhorn, the addition of a certain RSH frontman (take a bow John Loughlin) who pops up throughout the album adds a menacing edge but ‘special guests’ aside, this is Mage’s show and they’re certainly running it!

Thicker than a whale omelette (thanks to Blackadder for that quote), Mage sound fuckin’ massive on Green and their knack for offering up murky riffs to wallow in, alongside stompier bursts of speed (check out the bouncy rhythms of “The Wheel” for proof that Mage aren’t afraid to mix shit up), makes for a rewarding and varied listen.

This is a collection of songs that are chunky, they’re fuzzy, they’re drenched in spit, sweat and whiskey (and other fluids too probably) and they’re home to enough chugging riffs to keep a stoner/doom fan happy until Christmas. Not forgetting that the epic, psych-addled “Vulture Mass” is one hell of a way to close an already exceptional album.

There ain’t nuthin’ green about Mage, these guys seriously know their shit! 9/10