When H.P. Lovecraft terrified the world with his short story The Call of Cthulhu back in 1928, one could scour the earth in search for a worthy soundtrack and still come up short. However, nearly a century later, deep beneath the layers of The Choice City’s floppy hats and mandolins, Fort Collins’ Triton has answered the call.
Upon first glance, the Lovecraftian cover art of Triton’s latest EP The Abyss suggests something dark and dangerous lurking inside, which is precisely what awaits. The record’s opening track “Bisonar” begins with an atmosphere of thunderstorms and eerie, backmasked dialogue, as if the listener has found him or herself on the ship depicted on the cover heading straight to their demise. The track then heads on a sonic journey from stoner doom riffs, to mid-tempo thrash, to guitar harmonies similar to those of Iron Maiden, all before a single lyric is sung. “Bisonar” then takes it’s elements of doom to a completely new level with long, drawn out notes that accompany death metal vocals delivered in a style reminiscent of Behemoth’s Nergal.
The record’s next track, “Hammer Forged,” takes the listener on a roller coaster ride through riff after riff, from slow and doomy, to fast and abrasive, making every imaginable stop along the way. The band successfully ventures into territories of stoner staples such as Kyuss and Wino, while incorporating elements of thrash likened to early Metallica. Nic Federle and Ryan Gray’s guitar work matches Kirk Hammett’s wah drenched solo style circa 1983 on this one, spicing in a little Randy Rhoads at the end for flavor.
Though it’s impossible to know, it’s safe to assume that while the world was “doing the Charleston,” H.P. Lovecraft had a very different tune in his head. Whilst writing his masterpiece about the terrifying sea beast Cthulhu, Triton’s The Abyss could easily have been the soundtrack.
Nate Wilde is a radio personality at 107.9 KBPI, Radio 94.9 and 92.9 The Bear in Northern Colorado
