NKOTWTHaving changed their name from the cumbersome ‘New Keepers’ to the far more palatable and memorable ‘New Keepers Of The Water Towers’ back in 2009, NKOTWT have been slowly but surely carving themselves a reputation in stoner/doom circles. The Swedes favour a more progressive and psychedelic flavour to their music, and the influences of 70’s prog rock have moved some to call their sound ‘The Dark Side of the Doom’; a moniker which is very fitting.  The release of their second full length album ‘The Cosmic Child’ finds the band in a rich vein of creative form and on the brink of wider recognition.

Opening track ‘The Great Leveller’ lives up to its title, crushing everything with a massive weighty riff that is exacerbated by the layering on the production. The layering extends to the vocals where the overall impression is of a choir of monks warning of the impending demise of the universe. This is not the standard for the rest of the album though as they experiment with various styles throughout. The early light folkiness of ‘Visions of Death’ brings to mind a mixture of Opeth crossed with mid era Pink Floyd, before the track fully kicks in around the four minute mark. As you would expect with any band with progressive leanings there is no shortage of time and effort in the compositions, as tracks wind and meander through various styles whilst maintaining a coherent and catchy structure. The segue into ‘Pyre of the Red Sage’ is handled with great delicacy, so it almost sounds like one continuous track with ‘Visions of Death’, making for a 20 minute plus song. The use of call-backs to earlier segments and riffs gives this the feel not just of a concept album but a rock opera, as everything blends into one continuous tale.

The dual guitars of lead vocalist Rasmus Booberg and Victor Berg mix up technical solos with huge amounts of doom tinged groove, and the drums, whilst never really having to overstretch themselves, are admirably handled by Tor Sjödén, especially in the slower more mood driven moments. ‘Cosmosis’ really does show the influence that Pink Floyd have on this band, with strong nods to the ‘Welcome to the Machine’ album, in both musical structure and the vocal arrangement. The relaxing, lighter and more proggy moments in the songs provide an excellent complement to the harsher and weightier riffs, with all styles being represented with equal technical aplomb and reverence. One very minor gripe is that following the epic ‘Lapse’, the title track and album closer which follows feels very much like a tacked on afterthought, and left me with a strange lack of fulfilment, as if the whole thing needed closure.

New Keepers of the Water Towers have refined their style and lean rather heavily now on the prog side of the fence, so those expecting them to still have that same riff laden aggression of ‘The Sword’ may be disappointed. If you are after a more immersive musical experience however, ‘The Cosmic Child’ is a thing of beauty, mixing solid groovy riffs with relaxing and thought provoking passages, it’s definitely one of those albums that deserves to be enjoyed in its entirety.

 (8.5/10 Lee Kimber)

http://www.facebook.com/NewKeepers