Ruby the Hatchet - The Eliminator EP (2014)^{Release ID: 24098}

I was already familiar with RtH following my discovery of their Valley of the Snake release the year after this one. I recall that although the nostalgic element of the sound shone through initially, that sheen soon wore off after a few tracks of Valley of the Snake and so this two-track single has chance to fair a bit better given its much shorter runtime. Opener Paralyzed has all the hooks you would expect and is much more immediate than the more moody title track which relies on a slow build before it unleashes that hazy riff upon me.

This fuzzy, psychedelic brand of rock has some appeal for me even though I would not perhaps actively seek it out. Despite the short release length I do find myself getting a bit tired of Eliminator long before the track comes to an end and the single soon ends up suffering the same fate as the sophomore full-length. I just do not have the affiliation with this music unless I am really in the mood for it and I soon become exhausted of these two tracks even after several listens where sadly the enthusiasm levels never get even near simmering.

For fans of stoner rock this is probably entertaining enough and whilst this is not dripping with doom there is enough moodiness deployed to let it carry some doom credentials off and keep itself in the stoner metal tag for now. Striking cover aside, there is not a lot here for me though.