Album Type : Full Length
Date Released : 24/3/2014
Label : Candlelight|Dry Cough|Burning World Records
Into The Unfathomable Abyss, album track listing :
1). Valhalla Awaits 02:02
2). Beneath Black Skies 14:08
3). Bloods 02:19
4). Abyss of aching Insanity 12:30
5). Grievous Molestation 06:51
6). Ulfheonar 11:51
7). Return to the lake of Madness
The Band :
Jem | Guitars
John | Vocals, Bass
Steve | Drums (On Record)
Review :
Liverpudlians Coltsblood offer up seven tracks of the bleakest doom/sludge on this, their debut full length offering. Valhalla Awaits starts things off with an atmospheric and foreboding feel until Beneath Black Skies kicks the band up a few gears. The rhythms are unusual from the drums. No surprises that the bass is handled by an Ex-Conan member- the low end rumble is present and correct.
Jem's guitar is thick and often dense rather than angular and John’s hoarse vocals contrast well with the music, cutting through the waves of matted volume. Blood picks up the pace to grind levels with its blasts and frenetic guitar lines. Abyss of Aching Insanity, by way of contrast, is twelve and a half minutes of thoroughly mired horror; slow tempos, tar thick guitars and tortured vocals. There is even a solo! The track maintains a very slow pace throughout- a snail's pace, really and draws you in to a dark place that you may not really want to go to (Liverpool ?).
Grievous Molestation sounds like Brutal Truth by comparison, being as it creeps above very slow to slow-ish. The riffing is good here- grooves are laid down while the pace drops further and the track gets very interesting indeed. From here, the band go through lots of changes- the pace quickens, grooves and twists all over the place. The best that the band has to offer is all here- an excellent piece of music.
Ulfeonar follows with eleven minutes of tribal percussion, glacially slow tempos and numbing melancholy. The final track, Return to the Lake of Madness, is a slow burner and builds up from down beat guitar work through to a noisy and expansive guitar freak out that the rhythm section keeps grounded admirably. Like that, the album is over. Claustrophobic and unusual, Coltsblood offer a different take on doom and sludge and is a band that fan of either genre should check out.
Words by : Richard Maw
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