EP review: Wall – Vol. 2

If you want riffs, Wall have got ‘em. Aficionados of the UK stoner scene will know twin brothers Elliot and Ryan Cole as the sticksman and six-stringer behind fuzzed-up Oxford heroes Desert Storm and, more recently, smoky southern sludgemasters The Grand Mal. Stuck living together, and unable to tour during lockdown, a plan was hatched for the twosome indulge in a pared-back but pounding instrumental experiment, with Wall’s self-titled debut EP result, arriving as a short, blunt blast of Sabbath worship in January 2021.

Returning just six months down the line, Vol. 2. sees subtle but significant changes to their sound, and no let-up in the stomp that made us pay heed in the first place. The death of good friend (and lead guitarist for frequent Desert Storm tourmates Karma To Burn) Will Mecum this past April appears to have been significant, not just in their inclusion of a crushing cover of K2B classic Nineteen here, but also in a broader steer towards the more melodic, sun-beaten sounds of classic American stoner rock.

Five-and-a-half-minute opener Avalanche does what it says, but peppers the fuzzy freak-out with flashes of bar-room swagger and woozy ambience. The Tusk starts out like a nightmarish soundscape, but eventually shifts gear, unleashing some penetrative thrust and cavernous grooves. Speed Freak sounds like the sort of chugging high-octane treatment Metallica fans pray James Hetfield might write after a day revving-out his classic cars. It’s heads-down, brilliantly no-nonsense stuff.

Even as fleeting closer Falling From The Edge Of Nowhere drops curtain on the five-track run with a sprinkle of twangy acoustic, the Cole brothers’ heavily-underlined riffmaster credentials are in no doubt. As the world comes back up to speed, their focus will inevitably turn back to “full band” commitments elsewhere, but here’s hoping these lads find time to showcase and expand Wall’s heaviosity somewhere down the road.

Verdict: 4/5

For Fans Of: Desert Storm, Karma To Burn, Pelican

Vol.2 is released on July 30 via APF.

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