Sons Of Arrakis – Volume II

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · November 27, 2024

Sons Of Arrakis is a stoner metal/ riff rock band from Montreal, Canada. Formed in 2018, the band draws its influence and inspiration from the universe of the Dune novels written by Frank Herbert. Sons Of Arrakis consists of Frederic Couture on rhythm guitar and vocals, Francis Duchesne on lead guitar and keyboards, Vick Trigger on bass guitar, and Mathieu Racine on the drums. The band released their debut album, Volume I in 2022. It was very well received and made a big impression in the doom and stoner community. The band members describe their music as: “Melange Rock and Cinematographic Sci-Fi Rock which differentiate them from “the vast sea of stoner rock bands with their lightning armor-piercing torpedo” (Grotesqualizer, 2019).” They most recently released their sophomore album aptly titled, Volume II on June7th 2024 on Black Throne Productions.

Before I embarked on the review for Volume II, it made sense for me to listen to Volume I as well. Sons Of Arrakis were a brand new band for me to check out and I was encouraged that I should listen to their debut as well. I’m so happy I did, it’s really good! The songs are hard hitting with excellent guitar riffs and melodies alike, and the drumming and vocals are exceptional too. Volume I was a little more immediate and catchy to latch on to for me. Volume II is a relatively short album, around 33 minutes total and three of the ten tracks are short interludes/ outro. However, that doesn’t take away at all from the high quality of music and songs that are included on this record.

“Scattering” is the lead off track and gets things going right from the beginning. The song is a hard driving, high energy rocker with short heavy metal guitar leads and great vocals. The sound is in line with a lot of the music featured on Volume I. “High Handed Enemy” is a slower number that starts with clean guitars and vocals that picks up into heavier riffing. Fantastic singing from Frederic Couture and backing melodies to complement him. The music is well structured with a good dynamic from clean to distorted. The progressive harmonic guitar leads are great and the blanket of keyboards are a nice subtle touch to an already good song. The third track “Beyond The Screen Of Illusion” is another heavy rocking groove song that showcases the talents of the band with the vocal hooks and classic metal guitar solos. Sons Of Arrakis sounds like a band that has been playing together for a long time, despite this only being their second album. The music is well constructed and has a nice flow from riff to riff and song to song. The album features two quick interludes and an outro. The more melodic “Retaliation” has some tasty guitar lead emphasis at the end of each verse line. The dynamic progressive nature is working nicely on this song with slabs of riffing to entice the heaviness.

“Metamorphosis” begins with more melodic progressions. The guitar riffs are busy and the leads are exquisite. They even break out, what sounds like a harpsichord solo towards the end of the song. The combination with the guitars makes great use of the keys as the song fades out and blends right into “Blood For Blood”. The clean guitar kicks right into the riff and gets the song moving along nicely. The music reminds me of Abrams a bit with the prog flourishes and singing style. “Blood For Blood” then makes a shift just before the three and a half minute point. The music comes to a pause as the drums start a doom riff that carries on in a galloping rhythm with metallic leads and all. It’s a good bridge to the song that then finalizes the riffing. “Burn Into Blaze”has a metal type of rhythm that starts the song. It soon lays dormant as the vocals enter in. The chorded riffs also flavor in soothing leads as the vocals carry on. The band catapult back and forth between the two structures and also spice the ending with more intricate guitar soloing. They never overdo the leads on this album because they are in short segments throughout the recording. Volume II ends with “Caladan”, a short atmospheric outro and a pleasant ending to an excellent album.

Sons Of Arrakis has a good amount of guitar driven heavy metal within their music. They masterfully incorporate heavy riff rock and progressive elements akin to Elder into the mix, as well. They are a band on the rise and are making a big impact in the underground rock music world.