Album
Type - Full Length
Label
- Primitive Ways Records
Release
Date - October 1, 2014
The
Band
Matt
Couchon- Bass
Nathan
Stokes- Guitar/Vocals
Patrick
Cotter - Drums
“Obulus
for Charon” Tracklisting
1.
Bokor 4:20
2.
Kraken 3:16
3.
Spectral Figures 2:39
4.
Obulus for Charon 6:44
5.
Illusions 3:33
6.
Soulrot 6:51
7.
Beethoven’s Butcher 7:23
Album
Review
In
recent years Raleigh, North Carolina has become one of those small
American cities that’s become a destination for a bizarre mix of
people, everyone from musicians, to business opportunists, to rural
weirdos who are better off in an urban setting as opposed to the
southern shitholes where they grew up. Although the college/indie
rock scene has been a prevalent factor in Raleigh for awhile, in
recent years there has been an undeniable heaviness rearing its ugly
head from the city’s underground. Whether or not this due to the
lingering legacy of legendary Raleigh bands like Corrosion of
Conformity, or an anti-reaction to the abundance of jangly college
rock, may never truly be known, but it really doesn’t matter. When
you have a band like Noctomb, a power trio who emerged from the
underground and began laying waste to Raleigh locals with their
blackened doom/crust, all that matters is the music itself, not its
history nor how it came to be. It’s a surefire sign that there is
an underlying darkness to every light.
Noctomb’s
newest album, “Obulus for Charon,” is the latest release from the
stellar label, Primitive Ways Records, (whose excellent tagline is
“Life is too short. Don’t fuck to bad music.”) Noctomb’s
brand of heaviness is for those who like their metal filthy, furious,
and misanthropic. They’re definitely a band who will resonate with
both the sludge crowd and the black metal crowd. “Obulus for
Charon” is a seven-song deathride with surging riffs, gnarled
vocals, and dissonant chords that will transform into a black metal
pummel-fest at the drop of a dime. Album opener, “Bokor,” starts
things off with a Melvins-heavy chord progression that quickly whips
into an icy fury. You will immediately hear that Noctomb is a band
who knows how to maximize their three-piece instrumentation. The
album features lots of fast, spidery riffing, which is sure to
delight the black metal lovers, but for my money Noctomb shines best
when they’re laying it down slow and low. One of the album’s
stronger tracks, “Kraken,” features seriously crushing doom riffs
and a killer vocal line. It’s a masterfully well written song. It
will be hard not to raise your fist and growl along. “Soulrot” is
another tune that follows this stygian path into darkness. All in
all, there is not a dull moment on the record. Noctomb’s greatest
success with this album is in giving their listeners a filler-free
experience of what the band has to offer. Death, doom, and
destruction by the score.
For
a band that operates primarily on a local, DIY level, Noctomb is off
to an impressive start with this thunderous debut. “Obulus for
Charon” is a highly recommended album for listeners looking for the
perfect band to bridge the gap between heavy stoner sludge and icy
metalcore. Noctomb will soon be celebrating the release of “Obulus
for Charon” with a hometown show in Raleigh, but they are a band
who is plenty good enough to branch out of the Raleigh underground,
and they certainly deserve to be heard by a mass audience.
For
more information:
Bandcamp
– http://noctomb.bandcamp.com/
Facebook
– https://www.facebook.com/EnterNoctomb
Record
Label - http://primitivewaysrecords.com/
Label
Web Store - http://primitiveways.storefrontier.com/
Written by Erik Sugg
