ALBUM REVIEW: Conan, "Existence of Immortality"

By: Richard Maw
 
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 19/08/2022
Label: Napalm Records

 
“Existence of Immortality” CD//DD//LP track listing:
 
1). A Cleaved Head No Longer Plots
2). Levitation Hoax
3). Ritual of Anonymity
4). Equilibrium of Mankind
5). Righteous Alliance
6). Grief Sequence

The Review:

Conan return to battle after a pandemic enforced break with this monster of a record. The band have carved out their own very specific and very special niche in the doom genre (caveman battle doom to be precise) and they have the unique sound, presentation and artwork that marks them out as a band in a category of one.

Messrs Davis, Fielding and King have created a savage beast here. The band have been reliable on record, but for me their high-water mark remained “Blood Eagle”. “Revengeance” added differing tempos, “Existential Void Guardian” was solid with a superb production job but is now- incredibly- four years old. “Evidence of Immortality” has delivered a hybrid of all the band’s best traits.

The opener, “A Cleaved Head No Longer Plots”, has the title, the weight and the riffs- it’s massive and heavy in the way that Conan are. Davis’ vocals are reverb drenched and deep in the mix; the Skyhammer/Foal Studio sound is in full effect as the drums and guitars are just huge. Chris Fielding has done an excellent job with the production and mix as per- it is crushing.

“Levitation Hoax” brings a nitrous injection of blasting speed and thus brings in a dynamic element to the presentation which is welcome and noteworthy. It’s a great track and one of the advance offerings for those who have taken note.

There is the much shorter “Ritual of Anonymity” up as track number three and it offers a catchy rolling riff and more up tempo shenanigans (although not blast beats this time). It’s a sharp shock of a track and a reminder that doom doesn’t have to be slow or drawn out.

That said, “Equilibrium of Mankind” is just that, both this and “Righteous Alliance” come in at just over eight and a half minutes but- crucially- neither track feels like it. They are both made for the live venue; dinosaur like in their enormity and insistent in their creation of the urge to bang your head. The murky atmosphere of “Righteous Alliance” is particularly effective.

Well, all the previous tracks are great- not a dud amongst them- but it is the closing track, “Grief Sequence”, that really lifts this record. It is absolutely brilliant. It deftly uses synths over a near-fifteen-minute runtime to weave together an epic tapestry of atmospheric doom. It may be the best thing Conan have ever recorded. Have a listen and find out for yourselves.

Overall, then, “Evidence of Immortality” finds Conan once again at the front of the pack in terms of British doom and with “Grief Sequence”, they’ve laid down a marker which other bands will have to try to reach. This is massive, heavy and savage in its brutality and direct approach. What is best in life? The answer is contained herein.

“Evidence of Immortality” is available HERE 

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Conan - “Man is Myth” (Early Demos)

By: Mark Ambrose


Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 17/11/2017

Label: Napalm Records

Like most collections of curiosities, “Man Is Myth” is not the entry point for those curious about Conan.  But if you’ve explored “Monnos”, “Blood Eagle”, and “Revengeance”, and want to explore the raw, developing style of one of the UK’s premiere metal bands, “Man Is Myth” is an interesting and occasionally thrilling addition to any advanced metal head’s library.

“Man is Myth” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1.       Battle in the Swamp (Rehearsal Room Demo 2009)

2.       Satsumo (Rehearsal Room Demo 2009)

3.       Krull (Rehearsal Room Demo 2009)

4.       Satsumo (Rehearsal Room Demo 2006)

5.       Gravity Chasm (Studio Demo 2012)

6.       Foehammer (Studio Demo 2012)

7.       Domed Iron Boss (Studio Demo 2012)

The Review:

Apocrypha, marginalia, and demo materials may be the realm that divides the enthusiastic fan from the pop culture obsessive.  While they were largely disseminated through tape trading (or bootlegs of official, unofficial, or highly suspect quality), the “alternate” versions of many songs, or entire albums, has become a boon to a record industry that is excavating the seams of extant material to repackage to the diminishing population of genuine music buyers.  In some cases you get real disasters: poorly mastered, volume boosted in ways that degrade the dynamic range that only true audio obsessives may understand, or (in the most nefarious cases) whole sections of songs re-recorded to nullify the contributions of ex-band members.  Occasionally you get the odd collection that captures the raw intensity of a lauded band, or maybe highlights a track that never found its way onto a “proper” studio recording.  In the case of “Man Is Myth – Early Demos”, the first compilation from modern doom legends Conan, there’s a bit of everything, particularly for the true Conan fanatic.

The first four cuts on “Man Is Myth” come from the odd “prehistory” of Conan, when the band existed as a two-piece featuring constant member Jon Davis and drummer Paul O’Neil, with a short tenure by Rich Grundy on drums in 2006.  After a hiatus in 2008-2009, the Conan that fans have come to know from albums like “Monnos” and “Blood Eagle”, with a punishing low end bolstered by a full guitar, drums, and bass power trio lineup, really began in earnest.  That being said, there’s some undeniable intensity and chaotic flair to the first half of “Man is Myth”.  A live 2006 rehearsal of “Satsumo”, featuring the only contribution by Grundy, is by far the rawest cut on the collection.  It’s definitely the sound of a project in flux, though the vocals are more discernable than those on tracks 1-3.  Those 2009 demo tracks, with Paul O’Neil more decisively ensconced behind the kit, ride on overwhelming guitar power, with just the lightest smattering of howling vocals in the background.  Its interesting stuff, no doubt, for people already committed to the cult of Conan.

The real standouts are the last 3 tracks, culled from in studio 2012 demos.  “Gravity Chasm” and “Foehammer” would later appear as fully realized versions on breakthrough album “Blood Eagle”, and the rhythmic interplay between Davis, O’Neil, and bassist Phil Coumbe show Conan as a properly thrashing band.  There’s a lot more polish and nuance to the recording here, especially with the added bass range, but the sheer vehemence and swagger of a live, occasionally sloppy Conan is undeniably exhilarating.  “Gravity Chasm” is a bit of a disappointment as it’s a mere segment of what would eventually be a nearly 8 minute epic, but “Foehammer” remains a mighty beast.  At nearly 7 minutes, it greatly expands on the album version.

The main attraction is “Domed Iron Boss”, a fifteen minute doom epic that is relentlessly cold.  It’s a spare, haunting song that rides central motifs so hard you can’t help but feel like smashing something in your path.  Even if this is the one essential track on “Man is Myth”, it feels like a lost classic – I would imagine the crushing final section whipping a crowd into a Neanderthal mosh frenzy in a live setting.  And when I put my glasses back on and shift into higher minded “music critic” mode, it’s an encapsulation of a now-defunct version of the band, with Coumbe and O’Neil having parted ways with Davis.  There was an undeniable energy of this iteration, though Davis’s efforts with various drummers and bassist Chris Fielding have continued to expand on Conan’s mythic potential.

Like most collections of curiosities, “Man Is Myth” is not the entry point for those curious about Conan.  But if you’ve explored “Monnos”, “Blood Eagle”, and “Revengeance”, and want to explore the raw, developing style of one of the UK’s premiere metal bands, “Man Is Myth” is an interesting and occasionally thrilling addition to any advanced metal head’s library.

“Man Is Myth” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook