“Dammbruch” (which, I think, literally means “dam break”) begins with a serious bit of atmosphere via the raw strumming of the strings. When I asked for the band’s assessment of Dammbruch, they were straightforward: “Three songs, 30-minutes of thrilling and diverse instrumental stoner metal, covering everything from smooth psychedelia to blast beat eruptions.” Let’s break it down. Stargo is a band capable of touching raw emotions, but also allowing those moments of emotional pain to sting us, but also encouraging us to flourish beyond the grimness of now. For me, I should add, feeling that far from castigating instrumental acts as beneath us, we need to take time to appreciate how much it takes to make up for the loss of a singer. Does one really need to be grounded with a set of words (most of which we can’t decipher anyway) to enjoy a work of heavy music? I say “work” intentionally to stress how these compositions are morphing into an expression of high art. I used to feel that way, so I understand. Perhaps you’re one who merely tolerates instrumental when you hear them on albums that are otherwise very lyric-centered. The Dortmund band came to our attention on The Doomed & Stoned Show last year with the ambitious sophomore LP, ‘Parasight’ (2020), which has some absolute smashers on it. Whether we’re talking one-person bands, cross-country collabs, or a hard-gigging five-piece, there’s increasingly an evocative world to explore when the singer bows out. Over the summer, Doomed & Stoned released a four- part audio snapshot of the heavy instrumental explosion.