RBOTD #195: Lodestar
Needs direction
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Lodestar/3540488739
Country: Canada
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Genre: doom metal/rock
Formed in: N/A
Status: active
By the Numbers
Lodestar is the:
27th band that doesn't have formation data
Sixth band from Canada
105th band that is active at the time of querying
Its genre tags have been seen:
Doom: 10 times
Rock: 13 times
Member Connections
Lodestar is a bandalone.
Know 'Em?
Nope. I am now 10/195.
Sketch Check
Pass.
RateYourMusic Scores
Lodestar's highest-rated album is 2021's Lodestar, which achieved a 2 average on 2 ratings.
The adjusted score places Lodestar in the 6th percentile.
Adjusted scores are calculated similarly to the Trad Belt scoring system. Please read that column for more information.
Trifecta Tracker
Hell yeah, Lodestar achieved the trifecta. Lodestar's "Lodestar" appears on Lodestar.
This is the first example of the trifecta since tracking began during the RBOTD reboot.
A band can achieve the trifecta by titling a song after itself on a self-titled release. Iron Maiden's "Iron Maiden" on 1980's Iron Maiden is an example of the trifecta.
At some point, Lodestar will have to make a tough choice. The most-viewed video on the Vancouver, British Columbia, duo/trio's YouTube channel1 is a pretty faithful cover of Cryoshell's "Creeping In My Soul."2 Lodestar's other work isn't quite so trapped in the throes of teenage hormonal hell, preferring a less dramatic variant of lightly doomy rock. But, as the cover proves, the band wouldn't have to reconfigure a lot to appease mall goths. So, you can kind of see the conundrum forming on the horizon, right? It's either "keep doing doomy rock" or "tap into Cryoshell's 1.2m YouTube views." That latter path is probably wise in a "maybe music can be a career" sense, but it's about as artistically fulfilling as enrolling in law school. Is it worth getting a million views if you're just one of a million?
Thar be BIG cloying hooks. Thar be BIG guitars that don't ever seem to play riffs. Thar be BIG feelings that are so universally relatable that they don't actually feel like anything in particular. It's the Clear Channel alt-rawk-as-a-monoculture format that has been hanging on for dear life despite the death of radio because, ironically, the broader market hasn't been given many alternatives.3 Lodestar can do better, although it hasn't yet.
"To Hell and Back," Lodestar's newest single, shows promise but needs work.4 To that end, Kate Glock's vocals sound great, especially when layered in the chorus. I 100 percent understand why you'd be compelled to build a band around Glock. But that's all Lodestar has at this point: It's Glock's professional vocals...and...that's it. Jensen Rodolfo's doom-adjacent riffs and rhythms are little more than window dressing, never offering much in the way of independent hooks.
Right, doom-adjacent. I don't want to hold bands to some style ideal because genres are imaginary and amorphous, but I think Lodestar is an interesting case because...if it were doomier, it would do it a world of good. Per its Bandcamp, the band tags itself as "doom metal," but it's more in line with the post-riff incarnations of Anathema, Paradise Lost, Katatonia, and the like. Doomy, sure, but not doom. The pacing doesn't crawl, the riffs aren't hefty, the wound doesn't really ache. Instead, Lodestar feels like it's between many things without settling on one thing, and not in the fun way that motivates the artistically restless. So, at worst, Lodestar feels incurious. At best, it feels...confused. Like, the songs either need to be faster or slower. Right now, they sit at a maddingly mid-pace crunch that hits my ears awkwardly. Not to toss an additional conundrum its way, but doom or be doomed, I guess.
In general, Lodestar just needs to do more. Compare "To Hell and Back" to, say, Avatarium or Trees of Eternity and you can hear what's missing.5 Both of those bands have engaging vocalists at their centers, powerhouse suns radiating catchiness, with all other elements swirling around their performances. However, the music not only supports those performances, but matches them. Neat guitar stuff, neat drum stuff, hooks that are made up of tinier hooks. On the whole, they sound whole. They sound like bands, providing many independent points of interest that coalesce into fully formed songs. Lodestar just sounds like Kate Glock right now. While that's not a bad thing to possess by any means, Lodestar is stuck in the karaoke phase until it can find some secondary and tertiary hooks. At the moment, it's only vibes.
The best case for Lodestar if it doesn't make a move is another Canadian band, London, Ontario's The White Swan. Sure, it's not a 1:1. The White Swan is suffused with sludge and stoner tones, while Lodestar's trio prefers something more conventionally maudlin. However, the two similarly struggle with turning vibes into fleshed-out songs.6 The difference is in the delivery. The White Swan has a unique point of view and charismatic confidence that gives its moods more weight. It feels like it's trying to find its voice. Lodestar is trying on others. I hope it doesn't pick Cryoshell's, but it's a tempting bargain.
I should end with that, but let me end with this: I really want Lodestar to be good. Maybe that's why this is coming off harsher than I would otherwise would be. While Lodestar is extremely not my thing, metal is richer with more of these bands, expanding the palette to include softer shades. As I've written before, it's dope that I can listen to Malignancy and someone else can listen to Leaves' Eyes and we're both metalheads. I love that. It's what keeps me around. Speaking of, I'm going to check back in in two years, Lodestar. Good luck.
Got a question? Email us! plagueragespod at gmail
Follow Wolf on Twitter @WRambatz
Our logo and branding are by Mike Teal. Find Mike at www.storylightmarketing.com and www.miketealdesign.com
Like what we’re doing? Drop us a donation on Ko-fi
Earlier material is credited to a trio. Newer songs belong to a duo. Not sure if the membership is fluid beyond the core of Kate Glock and Jensen Rodolfo. I didn't look into it that hard.
If you don't remember Cryoshell, I don't blame you. It was one of a thousand dour pop rawk bands that spilled into our timeline once Evanescence broke through in America. (Europe had this for eons. The first wave of this sound before the Evanescence watershed, Within Temptation, Lacuna Coil, and the like, is fine.) While I can recognize the artistry of Evanescence, I find most of the stuff that followed…trying. It feels cynical, major label astroturfing, even if the machine constructs a bop every now and then. It's metal's version of Spotifycore: confusingly popular despite no one admitting that they listen to it.
That sound you hear is Rick Beato bleeding out.
Lodestar, the debut LP, sounds pretty not great, suffering from mixing hiccups that allow the punch of the programmed drums to flatten the guitars.
Or just rip off The Gathering circa Mandylion. There are options.
This reads more backhanded than I intended. I like The White Swan a fair bit for what it is, and I hope that Mercedes Lander keeps it rolling now that Kittie seems to be on the comeback trail.