It figures that just a few months after putting out their comeback album, which wound up being one of our top five Canadian releases of 2017, Bison would go all the way back to the beginning with this reissue of their first album on limited edition vinyl (666 copies). They’re more than 10 years removed from the original release of Earthbound, and their sound has certainly shifted since then… but it’s still worth checking out where these guys came from.
“Stokasaurus” starts things off with a big, clanging doom metal riff, before they kick into a mid-tempo groove reminiscent of Red Fang (who themselves were just getting their feet wet at the time), with a couple heavy breakdowns thrown in for good measure. “Wartime” picks up the pace with an up-tempo attack off the top more akin to High on Fire. But then a stomping stop-start riff first kicks in after 90 seconds, after which they slow things down considerably. “Dark Skies Above” borders on thrash metal with its aggressively picked riffing, while “The Curse” was practically pulled from Down’s playbook (with shades of forgotten T.O. rockers Diablo Red).
Then again, it can definitely be said that this still sounds like the Bison we all know and love. Listening to Earthbound, you can definitely see why Metal Blade would soon come a calling…
On tour
Bison plus guests – March 30 – Vancouver – Rickshaw
Bison plus guests – March 31 – Victoria – Capitol Ballroom
April 21 GER, Leipzig, Doom over Leipzig
April 22 NL, Tilburg, Roadburn Festival
April 23 DK, Copenhagen, Beta
April 24 SWE, Linköping, tba
April 25 DK, Oslo, Revolver
April 26 SWE, Stockholm, Kraken
April 27 SWE, Jönköping, Sofiehof Underjord
April 28 GER, Hamburg, Droneburg Festival
April 29 NL, Utrecht, Dbs
April 30 GER, Karlsruhe, Stadtmitte
May 01 GER, Wiesbaden, Schlachthof
May 02 BE, Brussel, Magasin 4
May 3 CH, Bulle, Ebulition
May 4 CH, Porrentruy, Galerie du Sauvage
May 5 FR, Paris, L´escape B
May 6 UK, London, Desertfest
May 8 CZ, Prague, Underdog´s
May 9 AT, Vienna, Viper Room
May 10 CR, Zagreb, Vintage Industrial
May 11 RO, Cluij, Hard Club
May 12 RO, Craiova, tba
May 13 RO, Bukarest, Control Club
May 14 HU, Budapest, Robot
May 15 PL, Cracow, Alchemia
May 16 PL, Warsaw, Hydrozagadka
May 18 GER, Kiel, Alte Meierei
May 19 GER, Berlin, Pelagic Fest
