By: Richard Maw
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 08/08/2017
Label: Independent
The sheer weight of the
riffs will indeed threaten to pull you under, as they deliver just the right
amount of menace to go with the fuzz. There
is a hefty dose of soul in the music here, along with a pervading blackness.
“Bleed The Days” CD//DD track listing:
1). The Lost, The Forgotten and The Undying
2). Snake Oil and Coffin Nails
3). Sea of Graves
4). Into Nothing
5). Stained Eyes on a Setting Sun
6). Bleed The Days
7). All Gods Fail
The Review:
Proper
American doom! There's your starting point for this review. Their three track
EP from a couple of years back got my attention, so this record was anticipated
by me as hopefully being a good one. The band have made good on their early
promise and delivered a real beast of doom. Think The Obsessed
and Saint Vitus as reference points- with a
hefty dose of Sabbath in the background of course.
There
are not too many bands around like this, not just any more, but ever. Eternal Black, as my last review noted, till the same soil
as Scott Weinrich and his sundry projects- that is to say that there is a hefty
dose of soul in the music here, along with a pervading blackness. There are
concise riff chargers like opener “The
Lost, The Forgotten and The Undying” and the band open up and get loose with jazz-like bass work and
rhythms on second track “Snake Oil and
Coffin Nails”. The sheer weight of the riffs on “Sea of Graves” will indeed threaten to pull you under, as they deliver
just the right amount of menace to go with the fuzz. Ah, this Brooklyn band
know how to channel the spirit of Dave Chandler, that's for sure.
The
haunting instrumental “Into Nothing”
progresses the record's dark feel and acts as a bridge between the first and
second half. Naturally, things are just as dark for the following three tracks. “Stained Eyes on a Setting Sun” is a
slithering festival of murk, with some seriously fuzzy riffing. The title track
is a real stand out in terms of atmosphere and vibe- pure Vitus worship
in the riffs and sound.
The
album closes with the close to eleven minute track “All Gods Fall”, which is a rather epic finisher to this fine doom
album. Just as with the 2015 EP, the band are not reinventing the doom wheel,
but they are making fine classic doom in the proud American tradition. This is
low, slow and as dark as the band's name suggests. For anyone looking for that Vitus/Maryland vibe, this is absolutely for you. If you don’t
belief me, check out the stunning title track “Bleed The Days” which we are streaming exclusively below
“Bleed The
Days”
is available to preorder/buy here
