By: Peter Morsellino
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 26/06/2020
Label: Profound Lore
Records
“Stygian Bough Volume 1”
CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. The Bastard Wind
2. Heaven Torn Low I (the passage)
3. Heaven Torn Low II (the toll)
4. Prelude
5. The Unbodied Air
2. Heaven Torn Low I (the passage)
3. Heaven Torn Low II (the toll)
4. Prelude
5. The Unbodied Air
The Review:
Hauntingly beautiful and dripping with
emotion, Bell
Witch joins force with Aerial Ruin to deliver a piece of art that is
worth many times the sum of its parts. With
“Stygian
Bough Volume 1” ,
we are greeted with an incredibly mature and strikingly artistic take on the
doom genre.
The album casts its spell upon
listeners with a weight of immense intimacy, creating a deeply personal
connection throughout its hour plus run time.
The emotional toll of this album cannot be understated. It moves slowly
and sorrowfully and it inserts the solemn voices directly into the listener's
soul.
Melancholic melodies reign supreme
here, with powerful funerary passages dotting the release from time to time.
Acoustic guitars and soulful vocal passages form the backbone of the album. It
has very much of a Jose Gonzalez vibe at times, which is something I never
thought I'd say on this blog, but it fits in perfectly. Moments of lightness
should not be mistaken for levity here, as the emotional toll of these songs
proves to be, at very least, as heavy as anything out on shelves right now.
With passages reaching well into the
ten plus minutes marks (and several reaching just about twenty,) this one is a
long haul for sure. And yet, the album feels woefully incomplete when consumed
in bits and pieces. You might be there a
while, but I would highly recommend taking this one in in one sitting. This is
an album that needs to be absorbed whole. It's an experience. A journey. Bell Witch
and Aerial
Ruin share something deeply personal and profound with listeners
here, and it is something that needs to be respected.
The mixing of gentle elements into doom
works is nothing new, but here on “Stygian Bough Volume 1” , we are presented
with a master class on the matter. This is a game changer for the genre, just
wait and see. A stand out album for me this year, and will most certainly be
making my list. Give it a go, you won't
regret it.
