LowMad – Lost

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · January 29, 2025

LowMad are a sludgy, fuzzed out, punk infused, stoner metal band from East Flanders, Belgium. The band consists of Kenneth De Schepper on bass and vocals, Philip Couliez on drums, Tom Fruytier on guitar and vocals, and Christof Bessems on guitar and backing vocals. They have two albums out including 2021’s Lowland, and their latest 2024’s Lost. The album was self-released on December 6th 2024 and contains eight tracks at forty six minutes long.

“Knette’s Garden” begins the album with heavy and gritty sounds of sludge metal. The song begins with a fading dissonance, followed by strumming guitar, into a heavy doom riff. The fuzzy bass is prominent in the mix and the guitars have a noise rock prospect to them. The vocals are aggressive and almost distorted sounding. LowMad has an interesting style which also incorporates some devastating riffing, especially towards the end of the song where it utilizes phasing guitar sounds. “Kaleidoscope Dreams” introduces some absorbing rhythms to the song. Heavy chugging mixed with some mid tempo hardcore and metal riffage. Stop and start slabs of fuzz with varied psychedelic elements dilate the sound on this track.

The third track “V et XII” starts with feedback into a fuzzy bass riff, erupting into a slow beat down of chugging menace. The song charges into a punk rock rhythm broadened with double bass drumming. The angry vocals also add in back up shouting to accent certain parts. Around two and a half minutes into the song, the music pauses and a slower clean guitar cadence begins. The music builds up progressively from there and LowMad encompass some noise rocking and metallic segments into the song. It’s a cool track with varying levels of sound dialed within it. “Fake Identity” has a pummeling punk and sludge hammering sound that explores different tempos. The abrasive vocals and slamming riffs are excellent on this track.

The second half of the recording begins with the seven plus minute monster, “Victims Of Catastrophe”. The heavy and sludgy doom metal emergence transforms into a hard driving and grungy rhythm. The song has a tortuous flow to it that bulldozes ahead in a devastating manner. “Knal” continues the audio assault with a mid range ruckus of rage. Lost is a very dynamic album and Fruytier and Bessems work their guitar parts cohesively well off of each other. “Satori” is another heavy riff blaster that blends interesting elements and sounds together. The ornate lead bass guitar from Schepper is busy and adorned. The whole song travels through a vortex of swirling sounds.

The eighth and final track on Lost is called “Seems Better Than Nothing.” It begins with a distorted bass riff of doom with added clean guitars. The song then briefly pauses and responds with a cool grooving guitar rhythm with hardcore style vocals. The drumming from Couliez is rock solid and tight on this one and throughout the whole record. LowMad has a great sound that blends many different styles into their own. The music has a lot of depth to it and requires multiple listens to really appreciate it. I was pleasantly impressed with this band and album and I am really looking forward to hearing what LowMad will do next.