post rock / post metal / drone
I've often wondered how bands name themselves, do they put lots of cool sounding words into a hat and pick them out and see what happens? (I'm looking at you, Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard) or do they think long and hard about what type of music the band play and take it from there? Today’s album band falls very much in the later category and may well be one of the most apt band names I've ever heard.
The Boston natives return with their second full length following their well received previous album 'Though Your Sins Be As Scarlet, They Shall Be White as Snow; Though They be Red Like Crimson, They Shall Be As Wool' Yeah, these guys have a way with words all right. They play an instrumental style of post-whatever that takes it's time and sounds like an unrelenting force of nature (hence the apt band name).
Lead off single 'O World! I Remain No Longer Here' starts off with an ominous sounding drone and slowly ratchets up the tension until just the right moment and a torrent of exciting sludge is released. It takes a long time to unfurl it's full might but once it get there the fury is exhilarating. There is an unusual amount of thought which seems to have gone into this record, each note sounds like it was put there on purpose with no excess whatsoever.
Next up we have the brilliantly titled song (In truth, all the songs are magnificently named) 'The Bugles Blow Fanned by Hysteria' which starts of with a gentle drum beat, before adding textures of guitar, bass and atmospherics until the song dissolves into a gorgeous bass refrain and picks up once again. Once more, this song takes it's time to unwind and once more, the explosion of force when it finally arrives is impressively powerful. This clearly is an album that is in no hurry to get where it wants to go, and it's all the better for it as the heavier sections hit that much harder.
Third song 'We Glut Our Souls On The Accursed' Is a curious beast, it's practically one giant build up with various instruments and textures being layered on top of one another until the whole thing sounds like an out of control freight train, it's quite a left turn after the first couple of songs.
Last song 'And we Are Damned Amid Noble Sound' starts off with a cacophony of drums and guitars which sounds like being chased by a swarm of angry bees, it's quite unsettling which I think is the point. It takes some getting used to and rather outstays it's welcome in my opinion. It's a shame as the rest of the song is a fantastic doom laden grungy swamp of drudgery with plenty of low end goodness.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this album and although I personally loved the first 2 songs more than the last 2, there is a lot to like here and I would not hesitate to recommend this album.
Simon
The Boston natives return with their second full length following their well received previous album 'Though Your Sins Be As Scarlet, They Shall Be White as Snow; Though They be Red Like Crimson, They Shall Be As Wool' Yeah, these guys have a way with words all right. They play an instrumental style of post-whatever that takes it's time and sounds like an unrelenting force of nature (hence the apt band name).
Lead off single 'O World! I Remain No Longer Here' starts off with an ominous sounding drone and slowly ratchets up the tension until just the right moment and a torrent of exciting sludge is released. It takes a long time to unfurl it's full might but once it get there the fury is exhilarating. There is an unusual amount of thought which seems to have gone into this record, each note sounds like it was put there on purpose with no excess whatsoever.
Next up we have the brilliantly titled song (In truth, all the songs are magnificently named) 'The Bugles Blow Fanned by Hysteria' which starts of with a gentle drum beat, before adding textures of guitar, bass and atmospherics until the song dissolves into a gorgeous bass refrain and picks up once again. Once more, this song takes it's time to unwind and once more, the explosion of force when it finally arrives is impressively powerful. This clearly is an album that is in no hurry to get where it wants to go, and it's all the better for it as the heavier sections hit that much harder.
Third song 'We Glut Our Souls On The Accursed' Is a curious beast, it's practically one giant build up with various instruments and textures being layered on top of one another until the whole thing sounds like an out of control freight train, it's quite a left turn after the first couple of songs.
Last song 'And we Are Damned Amid Noble Sound' starts off with a cacophony of drums and guitars which sounds like being chased by a swarm of angry bees, it's quite unsettling which I think is the point. It takes some getting used to and rather outstays it's welcome in my opinion. It's a shame as the rest of the song is a fantastic doom laden grungy swamp of drudgery with plenty of low end goodness.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this album and although I personally loved the first 2 songs more than the last 2, there is a lot to like here and I would not hesitate to recommend this album.
Simon
