Gone Is Gone - Gone Is Gone

Everyone loves a good stoner rock anthem. Supergroup Gone Is Gone just released their debut eponymous EP, and it's full of those. The band's giant lineup features Troy Sanders, vocalist and bassist of Mastodon, guitarist Troy Van Leeuwin of Queens Of The Stone Age, Tony Hajjar on drums from At The Drive-In, and multi-instrumentalist Mike Zarin. If that lineup alone isn't enough to pick this record up, you may be crazy.

As with any good stoner rock record, you have to have riffs, and this album is chocked full of them. Right from the get go with the giant riff of 'Violescent'. you know you're in for a mental listen. The instrumental crashes epically while Troy Sanders sings roughly above the thrashing riffs. Big instrumental moments are a key part of the record, the epic six minute anthem 'This Chapter' closing the record on many big moments. Other excellent moments include the incredible "All that bleeds is dying" part that concludes 'Stolen From Me' and the evil sounds of 'Praying From This Danger'.

The album does have a few faults in it, though. Two interludes can be found within the record, not really adding anything and interrupting the flow. 'Recede and Enter' does a better job at transitioning into the next track, but 'Character' is an aesthetic interlude with spoken word coming straight from Corey Taylor's playbook and feels like it just drags on for too long. There's also the case of 'Starlight', which is a good song overall, but the vocals and instrumental don't quite fit together. There's a lack of cohesion on the record that makes it hard to really take in at some points.

Gone Is Gone is the new force on the block. Their debut EP shows that they know how to bring the jams, though a little more work is needed, perhaps more chemistry within the group. That cohesion issue really broke apart the record in some places. Their album will be absolutely massive when it drops, though. There's plenty of jams on this record to keep us good until it comes, luckily.

Favorite Tracks: Violescent, Stolen From Me

Least Favorite Tracks: Character, Recede and Enter

Rating: 66 / 100