#post-metal

Wind Chimes

Chico, California’s five-piece sludge/doom/stoner metal act Cold Blue Mountain have returned with The Healer, their first full-length album in 12 years. For longtime fans who have followed the band since their self-titled debut (2012) and Old Blood (2014), stepping back into their sonic world feels nothing short of awe-inspiring.

Loosely based on the life of Grigori Rasputin, The Healer is a dark, hypnotic journey through one of history’s most charismatic and sinister figures. Cloaked in crushing, crawling, and bitterly heavy sludge/stoner metal, the album tells a tale of mysticism, manipulation, and malevolent power.

Clocking in at a massive 74 minutes, The Healer is as mesmerizing and hypnotic as Rasputin’s legendary gaze. From the very first moments, the band unleashes a thick, cinematic atmosphere loaded with crushing riffs, haunting melodies, and a suffocating sense of darkness. The music conjures the image of an all-consuming force; one that can seize both the conscious and unconscious mind with a single gesture or piercing glance.

With The Healer, Cold Blue Mountain remind us just how much the sludge and stoner metal scene has missed them over the past twelve years. This is, without question, their most ambitious, mature, and powerful work to date.

Rating: 4/5

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