II is actually a souvenir from Doom Over Berlin Festival and my first ever contact with TONER LOW, who opened this festival and downright blew me away, right from the beginning.
Founded back in 1998 and after a string of demos and split CDs TONER LOW releases its self-titled debut in 2005. Three more years have to pass by seeing the band going through more line-up changes till the sophomore is ready to be released in 2008, celebrating the band's 10th anniversary. And that’s actually the state of affairs. Fortunately II develops a long-term effect. After weeks and months you might still discover new aspects - admittedly a matter mental state. Different mood - different way to listen. And this kind of music is predestined for kind of strange music feelings ;)
Four tracks simply numbered serially, three of them almost 15, the last one almost 20 minutes running. TONER LOW kick off with a restrained and dark intro part leading over to this monstrous and phat riffwork and a hookline that so downright mills and burns into your brain. Low-tuned as fuck, harsh, brutal, bass-driven, drone-like with spacy sound samples in between and some twists and turns, till in the middle of the song the distorted singing of bass player Miranda sets in. It was supposed to be a weak point since former singer Deef departed, but it is for sure not! Much more, her voice adds the right balance to the brutality in the music.
Track II focuses on hypnotizing tribal-like drumming at first and then offers - much surprisingly and unexpected – fragile saxophone tunes, accompanied by acoustic guitar tunes and once again a distinct melody. Of course, sooner or later the Dutch trio goes back to the soul slashing musical battlefield. That’s the way also the other two tracks go, with some nice details to loosen these monoliths. Yes, II is a great record, beating the pants off the debut, but I also would love to see the guys hitting the studio again for some new material ;)