SFTHU Quick Reviews: Komatsu - "A Breakfast for Champions"
Komatsu is a band from Eindhoven, The Netherlands known for a heavy-hitting style of sludge and stoner metal that they've been refining since about 2011. The band is not green to the stoner/doom scene by any means, playing alongside the likes of Truckfighters, Karma to Burn, Clutch, Nashville Pussy, High on Fire, Corrosion of Conformity, Brant Bjok, and Baroness. Komatsu even played at the afterparty of a Queens of the Stone Age show in Eindhoven and has achieved their dream of sharing the stage with all four original Kyuss members in some form or fashion. The band released their fifth album, A Breakfast for Champions, on April 11, 2025 via Heavy Psych Sounds. This is Komatsu's first album since whittling their size from quartet to trio, a slim-down you'd be hard-pressed to detect within the depths of their sound. Komatsu is billed as a crushingly heavy band, and they are, but this fan of the lighter side of stoner/doom was very happy to hear a discernible soft edge to the band as well as some easy-on-the-ears vocals.
Komatsu - A Breakfast for Champions
This lighter side of the band (or as they call it, "some kind of sensitivity you haven't heard before from these bearded blokes") is apparent right from the start of A Breakfast for Champions when the title track bursts through with some bright and energetic stoner/alternative tones balanced by some driving sludgy riffage in the choruses. Second track Savage has a hypnotic desert psych quality with some hauntingly beautiful vocal harmonies. This transitions seamlessly into the space cowboy vibes of The Devil's Cut, and again into the following track Release of the Flies, which is marked by futuristic, mysterious verses and massive bursts of steely metal energy. Things take a turn at the midway point with the brutal instrumental assault of Fatcamp Workout, a track that will pick you up by the shoulders and rattle you until your teeth quiver in your skull. In stark contrast, the next song What Lies Underneath slows things to do a viscous stoner/psych trudge with soaring vocal harmonies in the choruses, ensuring things don't get too bogged down. Welcome to the Underworld brings the stoner/alternative groove found on the opening track back full circle, only this time it leans all the way into the metal side of the spectrum. The vocals don't kick in until about one third of the way in, and they're in an almost spoken-word style, lending even more to the edginess of this track. Final track Climb the Vines has a most delicious bass feature as well as a crunchy metallic bite that creates a tone both crisp and sinister - a memorable and multi-dimensional way to end the album that really highlights all the best qualities of Komatsu as a band.
Final Thoughts
A Breakfast for Champions is not an impenetrably dense stoner/sludge album by any means.
Sludge-laden stoner metal, as delightfully heavy as it is, can often feel very one-note when laid on too thick, especially when you're listening to an entire album's worth of material. Komatsu combats this very naturally by layering in the brightness of stoner/alternative rock, the fluidity of psychedelia, and the typical wails and bite associated with both traditional and more modern renditions of heavy metal. The result is a ton of variety packed into a prismatic and energetic sound that's never boring.
More About Komatsu
Komatsu Is:
Mo Truijens - Guitars, Vocals
Martijn Mansvelders - Bass, Backing Vocals
Jos Roosen - Drums
You can follow Komatsu and listen to their music at the following links:
A massive thank you to Purple Sage PR for the promo!If you like Komatsu, you might also enjoy An Evening With Knives!
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