Album Type:
EP
Date Released:
31st
October 2014
Label:
Stone Tapes
Carmilla
(Marcilla)/Spectral Visions DD/LP track listing:
1.Carmilla
(Marcilla) (09:51)
2. Spectral Visions (08:20)
Bio
Since they emerged
from Hampshire's catacombs in late 2000, MOSS have tirelessly dragged
intimidating amplification and metaphysical malignance down a murky
and overgrown path to oblivion. Whilst their sound has morphed slowly
from lengthy and devastating exorcisms of psychic horror to a
comparatively traditional form of sermonising, the last decade and a
half has only seen them draw closer to a motherlode of ceremonial
ambience and otherworldly dread. Fuelled by classic doom metal and
British horror yet in thrall to no-one but their own wayward
co-ordinates, these three seers have created a formidable collection
of audial documents that bear testimony to an unflinching fascination
with the ghastly and esoteric.
However, Hallowe'en
2014 sees the triuvirate encroaching on territory anew. Having
released an album on Aurora Borealis and two more on Rise Above
alongside untold EPs, live recordings and split releases, they now
embark on their first release for their own imprint, Stone Tapes,
having chosen not to renew their association with Rise Above after
the release of 2013's 'Horrible Night'. A 10” double A-side EP
limited to 500 copies, it sees the band in splendid isolation,
expanding on the gruesome Grand Guignol atmosphere of their last opus
in suitably monomaniacal fashion, and deploying grimly earthen guitar
tone, death-knell battery and stentorian oratory to conjure
otherworldly malice from beyond with deadly fortitude.
The Band:
Olly Pearson | vocals
Dom Finbow | guitars
Chris Chantler | drums
Review:
Preparing
for a Halloween release, Moss continue their ever-more melodic ascent
from beneath the grave into classic doom territory with their new 10"
record. The vocals continue their veering away from the earlier more
extreme moments, resting in a slightly-musical spoken/sung tone that,
in truth, is the one thing separating this from being an exceptional
pair of tracks. Without any great range, and without the sub-tonal
rasp of the past, they mostly fall a little flat for me. Thankfully
that guitar and bass sound is MASSIVE and at times fully redeems
vocal shortcomings. Both tracks fit the familiar Moss pattern of
intensely dragging, glacial riffs that slow the breathing, that pull
you down into the plodding stomp. Spaced out, drug-fueled
funerealism, steeped in an occult swamp that holds you in like
quicksand. I found myself being constantly reattached to the tune
despite the vocals. Side 1, entitled Carmilla/Marcilla is like a more
direct funeral doom. Despite slowly drawn-out lyrics of being forever
dead it holds an active, vampiric edge.
It
certainly isn't complaining about the death or doing the dying, dig?
Unlike so much slouching downtrodden doom, this gives a better
account to an almost predatory feel. Neither song is too complex or
overtly sinister sounding, but they make great work of simple
amplifier-worshipping relentless grooves that provide the pressure,
the motive for the words. The back side, Spectral Visions doesn't
dissapoint on that note as it immediately begins with a looping
gutturally hypnotic riff that opens up after a few minutes into a
droning slowdown. A lead break around 5 minutes or so tries to claw
your eyes out with its scraping shrieking dissonance as Olly Pearson
yells "can you feel it taking over your mind?" The weight
pushes you down, and the wait closes in on you.
Being
a huge fan of their first three albums, I can't avoid disappointment
in the loss of the extreme vocals but they grew on me after a few
listens, and the music stands up well enough. I think quite a few
fans of traditional doom could probably use this as an entry point
for the subterranean end of the genre, being significantly more
accessible than Sub Templum and Chthonic Rites, while still remaining
extremely heavy and slow.
Words by: James Harris
You can stream and preorder Carmilla (Marcilla) from here.
