Riffs, man. With an attitude to match, there’s nothing quite like a deadly riff. That very philosophy has permeated every level of doom metal and, especially, desert/stoner rock with that union being the very thing that draws many of us in. We have never seen a better time in the history of the genre when it comes to competent bands bringing glory to such an ideal, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down with new bands coming out of the woodwork seemingly every other day to deliver true glory. With their own debut, Indus Valley Kings gives us nine awesome tracks to bolster such a claim.

Without being a release that is overly focused on weed or any tropes of doom by any means, there’s no question in my mind whatsoever that Indus Valley Kings is a band that the doom community at large is constantly searching for whether they know it or not with albums like this being the dream that many are chasing after. Yet, that goal is something that we don’t get to see for months if not years at a time with countless trying to achieve it with few finding success, but it is undoubtedly with their eponymous debut album being precisely what we need more of in our veins. When it’s all boiled down, Indus Valley Kings has crafted a record that is quite simple by all accounts but it is no less than massive in every degree. Not a single song that is thrown our way for this release is lacking in any of the qualifying departments as the whole of the record holds nothing back with its ferocious attitude feeding right into the righteous riffs that adorn every second that Indus Valley Kings commands our attention as the thick melodies and undeniable catchiness washes over us without a moment’s notice. It all makes for a fiery and magnificently heavy experience the likes of which there truly is never enough of in this vastly expanding scene, and I cannot express enough how well Indus Valley Kings has made their introduction with it ticking off all the right boxes in order to be qualified as a force to be reckoned with.

As the band’s debut, we all need to be careful before we start putting this band on too high of a pedestal, but it’s wondrously tempting, isn’t it? Acts like this aren’t nearly as common as we’d like, but then that would take away the gravity of releases like this and I cannot express how much I’m willing to have such a trade-off. If it means that we get another band as top quality as Indus Valley Kings every so often, then what more could we possibly ever ask for?

LISTEN to “Indus Valley Kings” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Indus Valley Kings on Facebook here.