Lords of Dust – ‘Kickin Dust Up’ [EP] [Album Review]

Near the end of 2022, Lords of Dust unveiled their debut EP, Kickin Dust Up, a six-track collection of high-octane music fusing elements of doom metal, psych-rock, and acid rock into desert stoner rock.

Produced by Paul Miner, the EP follows on the heels of the band’s previous singles “Electric Jungle,” “Million Miles,” and “Awaken The Smoke.”

Formed in 2017, Lords of Dust comprises Dan Pernambuco (vocals), aka Buco Haze, Tim Booras (bass), Mike Blackwell (drums), and Josh Darling (guitar). Pushed by muscular guitars, Lords of Dust’s sound highlights the raw, rasping vocals of Pernambuco, whose voice is similar to AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, only with more resonance and greater scope.

Along with having shared the stage with Brant Bjork (Kyuss), Fu Manchu, The Well, Hippie Death Cult, and Mothership, Lords of Dust recently performed at the Planet Mammoth Festival in Arizona.

Entry points on the EP include “Let’s Rip,” travelling on snarling guitars riding aggressive percussion. Pernambuco’s growling, abrading voice imbues the lyrics with serrated textures. Seething with retro ’70s hard rock momentum, the track rams ahead with wild abandon.

The doom-like intro of “Mr. Stranger,” thick and gooey, summons up allusions to Alice In Chains, with its sleazy, greasy guitars pumping out slow, slimy, bluesy tones. Then the harmonics shift, taking on rock immensity as Pernambuco’s titanic voice sunders the atmosphere.

Lords of Dust in 2023

“Swing the Hammer / Union Song” mirrors the blue-collar theme of Rush’s “Working Man,” narrating an account of labour and sweat ensconced in the bowels of a steel mill. Whereas “Blood on the Skulls,” dipped in a vat of stoner doom, crawls with black dread.

Drenched in the surging gloom of subterranean, glowering guitars, Kickin Dust Up churns up suppressed primal compulsions.

Kickin Up Dust Track Listing:

1. Let’s Rip
2. Three on the Tree
3. Mr. Stranger
4. Swing the Hammer / Union Song
5. Blood on the Skulls
6. Protest Song

Run Time: 22:45
Release Date: November 16, 2022
Record Label: Independent