Album Review: Seum – Double Double

“Oh shit, I think I fucked up, I think I fucked up!”

Seum – Double Double
February 2nd, 2023
Stoner / Sludge Metal
Independently Released
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Those who have been reading this blog for a few years will know that I named Seum’s debut record Winterized one of my favourite records of 2021. This Montreal ‘doom and bass’ trio came crashing in like a megaton bomb on their first album, wowing me and plenty of others with heavy-as-balls and impossibly catchy riffs, savage drumming and a unique black metal shriek on the vocals. While I wasn’t huge on the followup to Winterized, 2022’s Blueberry Cash EP, I was eagerly anticipating the band’s next full length offering. When Double Double finally dropped I immediately started digging into it, and let me tell you, I was very pleased with the treasures contained within.

Double Double feels like a true and proper successor to Winterized. Once again this Montreal power trio has knocked it out of the park with 32 minutes of upbeat, chunky songs that will no doubt inspire tons of headbanging in the pit at their live shows. The thing that always strikes me about Seum’s music is just how goddamned fun it is. Fred, Gaspard, and Piotr clearly love writing and playing this style of music, and the sheer amount of energy they bring to the stage shines through on their recordings, and Double Double is no different.

Gaspard continues his signature black metal shriek on this record, keeping the high pitched snarl going from beginning to end. It’s got such a mean, pissed off quality to it that is a huge part of what makes this album and this band’s sound in general so entertaining. On top of the quality of his voice, Gaspard also has a particular way of incorporating rhythm into his vocals. I’d hesitate to say it but on some songs he has a flow that I might even compare to hip hop in some ways. It feels like the rhythm of his vocals are a huge part of what makes some of these songs hit so well, especially in the case of “Razorblade Rainbow”.

Piotr once again brings the thunder on the bass. These songs are driven by his riffage, and he does not disappoint. Each of these tracks feel like they draw upon the doom gods of old, featuring the absolute grooviness of groups like Weedeater, Buzzoven, Bongzilla, and of course… Black Sabbath. Despite being more rooted in sludge metal as a genre, Piotr clearly draws more upon the Sabbath realm of doom than he does the Eyehategod realm of sludge, at least from what I can tell. The riffs here feel “bright” as opposed to the sickly, misanthropic sludge one might expect from a band from the NOLA sludge world. Perhaps inspired by the album art, or vice versa, these songs feel like they deserve to be blasted out loud on a stage at an outdoor music festival on the longest, hottest day of the summer.

Fred of course continues his rolling assault on the drums, but incorporates some different aspects that once again help set this record apart from Winterized. Some tracks, like “Dog Days”, feature these really fast punk-inspired sections that offset the dreary to-and-fro of the sludge present on most of this record. Similarly, the track “Dollarama” opens with a straight up blast beat, although it’s much slower than what you might expect given the band’s goal of bashing you over the head with heaviness.

The lyrics continue similar themes from the band’s first record, either poking a bit of fun at the mores of modern Canadian culture, being self-referential towards the underground metal scene, or simply telling funny stories about doing too many drugs. “Snow Bird” for example is about the literal phenomenon of snow birds, that being northerners traveling south to warmer climates in the winter, while the poor narrator of the song is stuck in the Canadian winter. “Razorblade Rainbow” is a funny story about a guy who wants to try bath salts as a drug and immediately regrets it. “Dollarama” is quite literally about the Canadian dollar store chain Dollarama, but is also a wider criticism of consumer culture. Ultimately Seum’s lyrics are pretty straightforward, but they don’t need to be deep. These guys are having fun with killer riffs and badass drums, and the lyrics reflect the fun, tongue-in-cheek attitude they bring to this style of music.

This album is also produced really well. It’s exactly how I want a record like this to sound like. The drums are drenched in just the right amount of reverb, the bass is loud as fuck and punches you in the face, and the vocals scream out over everything. All the instruments sit at the right level as well, with nobody fighting for volume. The entire record sounds like you’re listening to the band performing live in some dingy basement somewhere, which is appropriate considering the group refers to their jam space as the “Seum Cave”.

I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better followup to 2021’s Winterized. While some bands suffer from the dreaded sophomore slump, Seum have bucked that trend here. This is a fantastic second record that has only grown on me more and more as I’ve continued to listen to it and absorb it over the course of the past week and change. I often feel like stoner metal and stoner rock and doom metal ends up sounding derivative, as like any genre it’s full of carbon copy bands, but Seum stand out from the pack in my opinion. These guys are great songwriters, great musicians, and a hell of an awesome live act. If you get the chance to catch these guys live, do so. You won’t regret it.

Final Verdict: 9/10
Awesome

Favourite Tracks:
“Torpedo”
“Snow Bird”
“Razorblade Rainbow”
“Dollarama”
“Double Double”

~ Akhenaten