Album Type: Full Length
Date Released:
17/01/2020
Label: No Friends
“Healing
Process” DD track
listing:
1).
Tragic Labyrinths
2).
Lips of Shit
3).
Reflections
4).
Healing Process
5).
Solace
6).
For Days on End
7).
The Anniversary Effect
8).
Uninvited
The Review:
Has
there been a void in you sludge fan? A void of truly wanting, no, needing to
know what Primitive
Man would sound like while clashing with Dragged into Sunlight, perhaps?
Then keep reading. A void needing blood curdling screams and guitars that
sounds like they’re being played by Quaalude addicts with extreme anger
problems? Then keep reading.
Servant of
the Mist
takes on all genres of extreme. Over its runtime, and in this order, we hear
their takes on doom, funeral doom and sludge all with depressive black metal
style vocals. They’ve been teasing us since 2013’s single “Daydreamer”. The three track EP entitled “Suicide Sex Pact” and
four track EP “Gross Knowledge of Genital Mutilation” followed in the
year 2013, and 2014, respectfully. And then they lay dormant for six long years
until 2020’s “Healing Process” LP brought them out of hibernation. All of
that time I have to imagine members spent bound to chairs in opium dens only to
be let out to fight the alligators bare handed in their native Florida for
food. I might think of extreme metal bands as roaming vagabonds who live in a
kill or be killed environment. But it’s more fun that way, I promise.
Splitting
up each individual aspect seems pointless. Not because of one aspect lacking.
But because each note, each shriek, each monstrous beating of the drum blends
in so well it seem impossible to isolate any one part being non essential. With
that said let’s still give credit where credit is due. Ed Tobar and Ryan
Blackman exchange and entangle in the guitar, Evan Schaaf keeps things gelled
together on bass, Robyn Holley detonates precision on drums, and Richard Smyth
Jr. writes every lyric and summons demons on vocals.
The
doom segment begins everything with the sombre “Tragic Labyrinths”. A lonely guitar playing Indian inspired blues until the
crushing drums and rib vibrating singing engulf all of existence. Each segment
seems eternal and vast like everything was recorded in an echo chamber with
each sound being brought back more distorted then before. Hypnotic “Lips of Shit” is a diminished fifth
haven, as simple as that. You’ve got eleven minutes of indescribable torture of
auditory hell. The funeral doom segment starts with “Reflections” and continues to “Healing
Process” where we have something of a feat. Something I’ve never heard
before.
Servants of
the Mist
contribution to funeral doom with shorter song lengths. This is interesting for
fans of Bell
Witch or Skepticism. These songs total to nine minutes
but accomplish so much with so little time, so not a bad thing at all. Almost
like instead of drawing something out as long as anyone could possibly stand
they’re instead opting for how creative they can be by saying just as much with
half the time. A much needed cool down moment in the instrumental until the
bands sludge soaked nightmares takes complete hold on “For Days on End” that grips you with “The Anniversary Effect” until “Uninvited”
fades out. This makes a fantasy in my mind of avenging any naysayers with
magical powers I’ve furnished from my evil inner being. Even though I’m just
sitting on my couch drinking mineral water and playing with my cats.
I’ve
never heard three of the most sinister genres all on display so vividly before.
Servants of
the Mist have shown me that they can lead a hate fueled vessel I’ve
be revisiting often.
“Healing
Process”
is available HERE
Band info: bandcamp || facebook
